Ghostbuster Girls
by Rattler20200
Summary: A years long plot by a mysterious Cult threatens the town, and the Equestria Girls suddenly find themselves dealing with the supernatural and in a race against time. To save Canterlot, the girls, with help from an unseen ally and a certain little Spud, must put on the Proton Packs and face the coming darkness.
1. Haunting

Author's note: Hello all! Rattler here after yet another long break. I know I'm not a prolific writer but... at least everything comes out complete. Anyways... I bring a new offering! I present to you... the Equestria Girls/Ghostbusters (technically Extreme Ghostbusters but the gear is movie/game based) crossover _Ghostbuster Girls_! The origins of this spark of insanity was learning Twilight's voice actor did Kylie Griffin, and I had the _Ghostbusters_ theme stuck in my head for about a month.

Anyways... ALEX!

Alex: rattler20200 owns nothing but the plot of this story. Reviews appreciated, and flames will be used for either S'mores or given to Mars for Fire Reading.

Thank you Alex. Now... I'm sticking this in the standard _Ghostbusters_ side on the crossover because as I said earlier the gear such as the Proton Packs and Traps that will appear later in the story are based on the movie version. The only real element from _Extreme Ghostbusters_ is actually Kylie herself.

* * *

Chapter 1

Haunting

"Guys! Get out! I'll be right behind you!"

"Slimer! Help Kylie!"

She was cornered. Cut off from the rest of the team. This whole situation was, frankly... FUBAR. This nasty spook had tried to open a portal to the world of Ghosts, and the Ghostbusters were trying to stop it. Now the building was pretty much coming apart around them, and Kylie Griffin was trapped. Adjusting her grip on her Proton Pistol, Kylie shot at some of the hostile Ghosts in an effort to make some space. Slimer, the team's mascot and resident green spud of a Ghost, flew over in hopes of helping Kylie.

Before either Kylie or Slimer could do anything, there was a massive burst of energy.

* * *

Edwardo watched in horror as the top of the building just imploded with energy.

There was no sign of Kylie or Slimer.

* * *

"Soon now... our mistress will return to us..."

"The spell is nearly complete."

"What of the children above us?"

"The science fair? Ignore them. Our mistress may wish to... _entertain_ them when she is freed from her prison."

Several hooded figures stood around a circle drawn on the floor underneath the auditorium of Ponyville Elementary. Their ritual had landed on the day of the Science Fair. As they worked their dark incantations, a small orb of energy formed in the center of the circle. As the chanting continued, the orb grew. After a minute, the orb started to fluctuate before two different colored streaks started to swirl around the orb. One orange with blue, the other green.

Without warning, the green streak shot off the orb like it was shot out of a cannon. The orange streak emerged, and was drawn towards the ceiling, burning the wood as it went before the orb itself collapsed. The orange energy shot through the floor of the auditorium, up the leg of a table, into a series of potatoes before entering a device they were hooked up to... and finally arcing into the surprised and helpless little girl who had built the device. A little girl with purple hair named Twilight Sparkle.

As paramedics were called to the school, a green orb shot out of the building. The orb soon transformed into the familiar form of a certain little spud, who screamed as he tumbled away from the unfamiliar building like a cannonball into the night sky.

* * *

 **Present Day**

Twilight Sparkle awoke with a jerk. Quickly adjusting her glasses, she looked around and saw what had disturbed her. A... food tray? Where was she?

It took a minute for her to remember where she was. The Cafeteria of Canterlot High School. Next, she took note of the owner of the tray, a now familiar blonde country girl with a cowboy hat. With an awkward smile, Twilight Sparkle sat up straight and invited Applejack to sit down.

"Ya alright Twi?" the country girl asked. "Looked t' me like you were out like a light."

"Its nothing Applejack," Twilight replied, waving off the question. She had to admit, life at Canterlot High was a lot more casual than back at Crystal Prep. It was something the young scientist was grateful for. She wasn't here to get good grades and help prop up the school's rep. She was here to _truly_ learn and make friends. Something Twilight struggled with for a long time.

If you wanted blunt honesty, Applejack was the girl to go to. The country girl grew up on an apple farm, and the down home, country life made the blonde girl not only strong, but brutally honest. She'd tell you straight up if you were being an idiot.

Soon more of her new friends came to the table and joined them. Next was Rarity, a proper young woman with a talent for clothing design. Although she did have her drama moments, Twilight knew she could count on Rarity's generous soul to be there when she needed her.

Pinkie Pie soon plopped down and started munching on a carrot like Bugs Bunny. If there was anyone in Canterlot High who could bring a smile to even the grumpiest person, it was Pinkie Pie. The girl was just a bundle of joy, and sometimes you just couldn't help but laugh at her antics.

Eating a taco next to her was Rainbow Dash. Brash, cocky, tomboyish, dependable, and loyal. Rainbow Dash seemed to cover a wide spectrum of things. But no one doubted her courage. As captain of the school's soccer team, Rainbow Dash was truly at home out on the field. Try and stick her in a proper dress, and you risked bodily harm. For Rainbow Dash, it was Death before Fufu.

Timid and quiet, Fluttershy was the kindest soul Twilight had ever met. If there was an animal in need, Fluttershy was there. Twilight felt that if it weren't for her timid nature, Fluttershy could be an excellent Game Warden some day.

And finally, what some might consider the leader of the little group. Ex Bully Queen and resident expert on Magic, Sunset Shimmer was something else entirely. It was still hard for Twilight to believe that the redhead was actually a Unicorn from a world of Ponies. But her knowledge of magic and what she did for her at the Friendship Games proved that the girl could be counted on to help others in need.

And in the middle of this melting pot of personalities was Twilight Sparkle. A socially awkward science girl who had spent most of her school career in private schools. While she had attended a public Elementary School, after an incident at the science fair, she was doomed to a life of Private Schools that in a way hampered her social skills. While she was pretty much a scientific genius, Twilight was terrible with people. She was most at home in a library or with her nose stuck in some book or project. Out in public, she was unsure of herself. Her friends were helping with that though.

Finally focusing on the subject being discussed, Twilight blinked in confusion.

"Uh... what are we talking about?" she asked.

"Well..." Rarity spoke up. "We've been hearing stories about this strange, green blob flying around."

"Yea," Rainbow Dash chirped. "We're asking Sunset if she knows of anything like it."

"Which I don't honestly," Sunset sighed. "It does sound like it could be some kind of magic creature, but... the description doesn't match anything I studied back in Equestria."

Twilight thought for a moment before something registered in her mind.

"What can you tell me about this blob?" Twilight asked.

"Well... its green, apparently has a face, and has two arms. No legs, and no wings," Pinkie Pie explained.

"Also... apparently someone said that they heard gibberish from it," Fluttershy said quietly.

Twilight blinked. She stood up and, almost looking like she was on autopilot, dashed off for the nearest restroom. Once inside and sure she was alone, she locked the door and braced herself against a sink. Shaking her head, Twilight took her glasses off and looked into the mirror.

"Its him isn't it?" she asked the mirror. To her, it seemed like her reflection changed. While the facial features remained the same, the hairstyle changed to a more wild, semi Goth look.

 _"Certainly sounds like the little spud alright."_

"After all these years... you thought he was gone. But now we're hearing about something that sounds an awful lot like Slimer."

 _"Yea... But we need to know for sure. Think you can rig up that magic detector of yours to detect PKE instead?"_

"Yea... with your help I believe so. But I might have to calibrate for the ambient magic around town because of the Portal."

 _"Twilight... I... look... I'm sorry. I know its coming up on that time of year again. I just wish I wasn't stuck in your head and making you suffer like this."_

"I've managed so far. And... you've helped me through some tough times. I just wish you could have done more during the Friendship Games."

 _"I let you down, and I'm sorry about that. At least I was able to break Midnight Sparkle's concentration for a minute for Baconhair to do her thing. And you do know you're going to have to tell them eventually right?"_

"I'm kinda hoping I won't have to."

 _"It is going to come up Twilight. You're going to have to tell them about what happened that day, and about me."_

"The longer I can put it off..."

 _"The bigger the risk of it coming out at an awkward moment. If it is Slimer and he somehow recognizes me and calls my name..."_

"Yea... that might be awkward. Lets hope he's not that observant."

Taking a quick look at the door, Twilight slipped her glasses back on and put a hand on the mirror. The altered reflection smiled before reverting back to normal. Taking a moment to splash some water on her face, Twilight came out and returned to the table. She just waved off questions by saying something along the lines of when you gotta go you gotta go. But in the back of her mind, she knew the clock was ticking. It was only a matter of time before she had to reveal a secret she had been carrying with her since that day at Ponyville Elementary.

When she got back to the table, the talk had gone from mysterious green ghost to things around school, and an upcoming Halloween performance by the Rainbooms of a fitting song for the season. Twilight couldn't help but laugh at the irony of the choice in music, considering who was sharing her head as a "roommate".

"What? _Ghostbusters_ is perfect! Rarity can even make outfits for the performance!" Rainbow Dash defended their choice.

"Its not that Dash," Twilight replied. "Its... something else."

* * *

Deep in an unknown basement under Crystal Prep, a hooded figure looked over a large book. The ancient runes were unlike anything seen in this world, but the hooded figure knew what they said. They would bring about a release of a dark goddess, herald the coming of Eternal Night, and bring forth a power unknown in this world.

"Soon... we shall break you free of your bonds, and you shall have an entire world to rule free of any power that can oppose you..."

The hooded figure ran a hand over the image of a dark equine figure in armor.

"We will try again. And this time... we will not stop until we succeed. And not even those _children_ can stand against you."


	2. Who let the Ghost out?

Chapter 2

Who let the Ghost out?

A few days had passed since they talked about the mysterious green blob. Sunset had actually written to Princess Twilight on the subject, and... no response yet. Either she was busy with something important or was up to her eyeballs trying to research the creature.

Sunset's money was on research.

So far things were pretty quiet around town though. But ever since the Fall Formal, things haven't been quite the same. Magic was spreading, though nowhere near as strong as back in Equestria. Thankfully the incidents were relatively isolated, mostly surrounding Canterlot High itself. The Battle of the Bands was an anomaly though. The event wasn't even on school grounds, and magic was involved. Did that mean that it was spreading exponentially from the school into the town and beyond? What did that mean for the humans? Were they going to be affected in some way? How were they going to react?

As Sunset walked down the street deep in thought, her foot came down on something and slid out from under her. Landing hard on her back, Sunset groaned as she recovered and looked for what she had slipped on. It was too warm for ice, and whatever it was felt very slick. Taking a quick look at her boot, Sunset found some sort of slimy material she had never seen before. Looking around, Sunset found a puddle of the stuff just sitting on the sidewalk, and a slide mark where her foot had come down and lost traction.

"Ow..." she said to herself as she pushed herself up to her feet. She slipped a bit because of the slime on her shoe, but a quick slide through the grass cleaned it off easily. Something about this slime felt off to her. Bringing a hand close to it, Sunset felt a tingling sensation around her fingers as if there was some kind of energy charge. Pulling her hand back, Sunset looked around for something she could use to collect a sample to study later. After locating a food truck, Sunset managed to get a cup with a lid, and scooped up as much of the slime as she could before continuing on her way. Whatever this stuff was, she had a feeling it wasn't exactly natural. Not with that tingly charge she felt.

* * *

"Is it just me, or has Twilight been a little... weird lately?"

Rainbow Dash's question hung in the air as the girls gathered at the front of the school. The statue was still being rebuilt, but students were still allowed to hang out in the area since it was also the front door. Rarity leaned against the wall and thought about it for a moment.

"Well... now that you mention it... yea. She has been a little weird," she finally said.

Applejack pushed her hat up a bit as she sat on the steps, adding that Twilight seemed to be trying to find information on the mysterious blob, and gathering materials for something. She also said Twilight never really gave a clear cut explanation as to what she was doing. Just dodged the question entirely and went on with what she was doing.

"Twilight did stop by my place yesterday with a really strange request," Rarity said. "She wanted a simple jumpsuit. Nothing fancy, but she _insisted_ that it be treated with some unusual chemicals. I asked her why and she just asked if I could do it. Well... of course I could make the jumpsuit, but the chemical treatment would be an issue..."

"Maybe Twilight is getting ready for some kind of close encounter with an otherworldly being!" Pinkie Pie chirped in that happy-go-lucky tone of her's.

The girls just thought for a moment before pretty much agreeing that wasn't the case and figuring it was probably some elaborate Halloween costume. It was around this time that Sunset showed up carrying a cup.

"Ooo! You get me a milkshake?" Pinkie Pie asked as she bounced.

"No," Sunset replied. "I... slipped on something strange and managed to collect a sample."

"What is it?" Fluttershy asked.

"Don't know. But for lack of a better term... its Slime."

The girls all looked at Sunset in confusion. The resident redhead just popped the lid off and showed them the large sample she had collected, eliciting a disgusted response from Rarity. Sunset explained about the odd tingling feeling whenever her hand got close to it, and said that she was going to run some tests after school in one of the chemistry labs. The girls had to admit they were curious, as Pinkie Pie noted that the slime was green. Was this related to the flying blob?

As soon as Twilight arrived, the girls headed in for the first class of the day. Unfortunately for Sunset, that meant subjecting the slime to a music class for an hour.

Trying to explain a dancing cup of Slime was not easy, especially since she didn't even know what was going on either. What Sunset didn't notice was Twilight's eyes locking onto the now dubbed Cup O' Slime as soon as the dancing started. She adjusted her glasses and narrowed her eyes as she watched the cup bounce to the beat.

* * *

For years now he had wandered around the unfamiliar town. Nothing seemed familiar about any of the buildings or the people. A few times he returned to the building that he got shot out of years ago. Nothing made any sense. What did trouble the Spud though was at first there was little to no paranormal activity here. It was quiet. But the last few days he saw things that troubled him. An increase in Ghost Activity similar to what happened back in New York. Something was stirring up the spirits of the dead, and not in a good way.

That much he knew.

With a sigh, the little Spud flew into yet another building. He perked up when he saw food, and in typical fashion for him, proceeded to devour anything in reach that was edible.

The poor old woman in the kitchen was scared out of her mind when she saw him, and ran.

* * *

"I've never seen anything react like this to music!" Sunset exclaimed as she held onto the bouncing Cup O' Slime. Even though a couple hours had passed since Music class, the cup was still trying to dance in the redhead's hands. Twilight actually pulled out her old Magic Detector, the first version before the locket, and tried to get a reading off of the cup.

"Still need to calibrate for the ambient magic, but... I'm definitely getting a spike off this substance," Twilight said. "I just don't know exactly _what_ I'm detecting."

The cup bounced again in Sunset's hands, and the redhead just tried something random.

"Ok Cup O' Slime, if you're good, I'll let you listen to music later," she said in exasperation. Surprisingly enough, the Slime stopped moving, catching everyone off guard. Sunset looked at Rainbow Dash in disbelief after looking into the cup.

"There's no way that should have worked," both girls said at the same time. Further comment on the amazing dancing ability of the Slime was interrupted by a scream, and the sight of Granny Smith running faster than anyone could remember the old lady moving.

"Granny Smith? What in tarnation is goin' on?" Applejack asked as she stopped her grandmother.

"Th' Devil's come to Canterlot High!" Granny Smith replied, still freaked out. "Get th' preacher! Th' kitchen's haunted by a _Ghost!_ "

Twilight raised an eyebrow before turning her Magic Detector towards the Cafeteria. Sure enough, the detector was picking up on something in that direction.

"Can you describe this ghost?" Twilight asked.

"Describe it? Ah was dang near eaten by th' bugger! It was all mouth! Green as can be! And them yeller eyes were hungry! Started tearin' up the kitchen fer anythin' edible!"

The girls all looked at each other. The main thing that stuck out to them was the color. Green. Before anyone could react, Twilight ran down the hallway towards the cafeteria. Along the way she had to maneuver around other students who had gone in for lunch, only to come out screaming. The readings on her Magic Detector were increasing the closer she got.

"If my modifications are working... definitely a significant PKE signal," she said to herself as she entered the cafeteria. What she saw inside froze her in place.

"Oh... my... god..."

After reassuring Granny Smith, Sunset motioned for the girls to follow her. Something was wrong in the cafeteria, and she had a feeling Twilight was going to need help. The problem was... how were they going to deal with it?

Sunset settled on their usual plan. Make it up as you go.

As soon as they arrived, they found Twilight just standing there in the doorway in shock. Her Magic Detector going off like crazy in her hand. But she wasn't looking at the device. She was looking at the chaos in front of her. Students backing away or hiding behind tables as a green, flying blob just floated by the food and stuffed its face like Garfield with Lasagna. Taking her backpack off, since she had to stash the Cup O' Slime in that, Sunset approached Twilight and put a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Such disgusting table manners," Rarity complained.

"Ugly little spud ain't he?" Applejack added.

"Actually... I think he's kinda cute..." Fluttershy said, causing the other girls to just look at her.

"On the bright side, that blob's saving us from the Mystery Meat Special we usually get with the Nachos," Rainbow Dash said.

As the girls were discussing ideas on how to deal with the Ghost, Twilight actually stepped closer to it.

Slimer was happy. Then again, whenever there was food around he was happy. And here was a veritable buffet just for him. He looked up from his most recent target and saw the reflection of someone behind him. Turning to face the girl, Slimer tilted his body a bit in thought. For some reason, something felt... familiar about her. Behind her was a group of six more girls. Something about them felt different as well. Not familiar, but different.

The girl with the purple hair crept closer, and Slimer narrowed his eyes. In the girl's hand was something that reminded him of the PKE Meters. And it was getting brighter the closer she got to him. The look on her face was odd. Almost like she knew him from somewhere.

Deciding to ham it up, Slimer reared back and charged. The girl threw her hands up, and was covered in slime as he passed through her. But something caused him to turn to look at her afterwords. He felt a familiar presence inside her! His thoughts were interrupted as the other six girls came running, and Slimer just flew towards them as well. They scattered, but the white skinned girl with the fancy purple hair was not fast enough. The redhead did try to pull her out of the way, only for them both to get slimed.

The Spud couldn't help himself and laughed. He was having fun. But it was then that he heard something that chilled him to his core.

"That's enough Slimer!"

That voice! He knew that voice! It was the voice of someone he respected, and somewhat feared at the same time whenever she yelled. Turning towards the source of the voice, Slimer was confused. It was the purple haired girl again. Her hand went into her pocket and pulled out an oversized locket.

Sunset wiped the slime out of her face as she recovered from the close encounter. The ghost was fast for a fat spud. Then again... when you can fly like that, size is a non issue. Shaking her head, Sunset helped Rarity back to her feet as she prepared to confront the slimy creature again when Twilight did something unexpected. She called out to it like she knew the creature! And in her hand was the locket Twilight had during the Friendship Games. The same locket that detected and captured Magic Energy from Sunset and her friends. The defiant look on her face reminded Sunset of Princess Twilight facing off against the Dazzlings. But this was _Human_ Twilight!

The spud seemed confused as it floated down closer to Twilight. It was then that it spoke for the first time in this encounter.

"Kylie?" it asked.

Twilight's only response was to thrust out the locket and open it. The spud panicked and tried to fly away but was caught in a vortex and pulled into the locket before it snapped closed. It was then that Sunset realized that something was going on with Twilight.

"Sorry Slimer, but it had to be done," Twilight said as she looked at the locket.

"Uh... Twi? What'cha do with the spud?" Applejack asked.

"Ugh... gross!" Rarity exclaimed. "I'm all... slimy! And my hair is ruined! God I hope this doesn't stain..."

"You'll be fine Rarity. Its just Ectoplasm. Just be sure to take a shower and... maybe burn your clothes," Twilight spoke up as she continued to look at the locket. "I just used the locket as a makeshift Ghost Trap. I figured if it could capture magic energy, it could hold a Ghost. At least for a little while."

Sunset thought for a moment. Twilight had called it Ectoplasm. A substance normally associated with paranormal entities like Ghosts. And it felt a lot like what she had in the Cup O' Slime. Her whole body was tingling like her hand did when she came close to the sample she took this morning. After a moment, Sunset just looked at Twilight. Something was off about all this. The girl wasn't freaked out. It was as if she not only knew what that spud was, she knew what was going on.

"Twilight," Sunset said. "I think we need to talk."

Twilight Sparkle looked over at the slimy form of Sunset Shimmer, and bit her lip.

Busted.


	3. I have a Cup of Ectoplasm!

Chapter 3

I have a Cup of Ectoplasm!

Clad in a lab coat and goggles, Sunset Shimmer carefully dipped the end of a dropper into the Cup O' Slime and extracted a small amount. With Principal Celestia's permission, Sunset was given control of a whole Chemistry Lab after school was out. The School Administrator herself was observing the proceedings, curious as to what happened in the cafeteria and if this was somehow connected. The girls were also wearing protective gear in case something happened. Rarity seemed to be taking extra precautions due to her previous encounter with the Ectoplasm.

"Well... I can confirm it is a thick, viscous substance..." Sunset trailed off as she examined her small sample. Twilight also stayed nearby, having tied her ponytail back into the bun she had when everyone first met her. She too was wearing a lab coat and goggles as she took notes for Sunset. She also had a tablet nearby with some material on Paranormal entities.

"Well... if Tobin's Spirit Guide is accurate... Ectoplasm is... well... A supernatural secretion, and is also what makes up ghosts and demonic entities," Twilight explained. "Also... some occult sources believe it is concentrated magic power."

"Well... if it has magic properties... that might explain the tingling I felt," Sunset replied as she proceeded to experiment with the Slime. "Being magically sensitive due to my origins as an Equestrian Unicorn, I would naturally be able to pick up on magic."

Sunset actually tried to light a small sample of Slime on fire, only to fail. While it did seem to ignite, the flame soon snuffed itself out, leaving the Slime virtually untouched. She proceeded with several more small scale experiments to try and learn more about it. After a moment she stood up and looked at Twilight.

"So... care to explain your familiarity with our slimy new friend in your locket?" she asked.

Again, Twilight bit her lip before taking a deep breath and taking a few more notes. Looking over at the tablet, she saw her reflection, and saw it shift.

 _"Tell her Twilight. She has a right to know. Especially after you trapped Slimer like an expert."_

Closing her eyes and nodding, Twilight faced Sunset and adjusted her glasses.

"Its... a bit of a long story. One that I've been trying to figure out for years," she explained. "You see... it kinda started back at Ponyville Elementary."

"Ah didn't know ya went t' Ponyville," Applejack spoke up, taking her hat off. "Ah went there mahself."

"Then you probably heard about an accident at the science fair."

Applejack nodded, saying that while she didn't participate, she had heard about the incident but didn't know any details other than one student was supposedly electrocuted by her own science project. As they talked, Sunset returned to her experiments, making sure to keep an ear open to listen in. She was pretty good at multitasking when the situation called for it.

"Well... that was... me. I was the girl who was electrocuted. But the truth is... I wasn't exactly electrocuted. I don't know what happened but... that day... I think my science experiment attracted some kind of energy and... well... its been... how do I explain this..." Twilight trailed off in thought before continuing. "I've kinda been its host ever since. Its ok, she's harmless. Just... she's helped me a lot over the years."

Sunset raised an eyebrow as she got another small sample of Slime from the Cup and started on her next experiment, exposing the Slime to an electrical current. It seemed to be both a conductor and an insulator, which confused Sunset. Quickly taking the notebook from Twilight, Sunset wrote down the observed result before handing it back to Twilight and moving on to introducing other, benign chemicals to the Slime to try and elicit a chemical reaction.

"Back during the Friendship Games, she was the one who actually managed to break through Midnight Sparkle, allowing me to come through for a moment so that Sunset could... um..."

"Blast away the darkness?" Sunset supplied as she dropped some salt on the Slime.

"Yes... thank you," Twilight said with a nod. "Anyways... She's familiar with paranormal entities because she used to deal with them on a daily basis back where she came from. She called herself a Ghostbuster, and... well... she knows Slimer personally."

"Slimer... isn't that what you called Blobby before you sucked him into your locket?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Yea... the Ghostbusters called him Slimer because... well... he slimed everything."

"And Slimer called you Kylie... why?"

"Because... that's who my... 'roommate' is. Her name's Kylie Griffin."

As Twilight explained everything, Sunset started trying to put the pieces together as she moved from the benign chemicals to the more volatile ones. Whatever happened to Twilight started years ago at Ponyville Elementary, and may be connected to her old science project. She figured they would either need to recreate her project or dig it out of storage to take a look at it. Might shed a clue as to how this Kylie ended up in Twilight. But that still didn't explain Slimer. Unless... whatever shot Kylie into Twilight also brought Slimer. But then... why would Slimer be free to roam while Kylie was bunking out in Twilight's head?

Sunset's train of thought was broken when the small sample of Slime puffed up into her face as a mist after being exposed to the latest chemical, a low-end acid. Wiping her goggles off, Sunset stood up straight and stretched. So far the Slime seemed to be... defying scientific reason. Collecting the Slime back into the Cup, Sunset pulled a stool over and sat down. This was some deep stuff they were getting into. Certainly the Slime alone was an important discovery. But taken all together... something felt off.

"We still don't know what brought Slimer here," Sunset said.

"Perhaps you could ask him yourself?" Principal Celestia said from the doorway.

Twilight shook her head.

"While Slimer can understand us, his vocabulary is... according to Kylie, limited."

Even so, Twilight pulled out the locket and looked at it. There was some smoke coming out of it, indicating that it might be failing slowly. Unlike when it captured magic energy from Sunset and the others, it was currently containing a sentient ectoplasmic being. A being who could very well be actively trying to escape. With a nod, Twilight adjusted her grip and pointed the locket away from everyone before opening it again.

In a flash of light, the now familiar form of the green Spud appeared and shook himself like a dog. Looking around, Slimer noticed he wasn't alone. The seven girls were present, along with an adult woman. Before anyone could say anything, Slimer backed off in a defensive manner, mostly backing away from Twilight and her locket. Fluttershy took her goggles off and approached Slimer, giving the ghost a warm smile.

"Its ok... we're not going to hurt you," she reassured the ghost. Slimer seemed to consider Fluttershy's words before floating down to be more level with the kind girl. Reaching out with a hand, Fluttershy tried to touch Slimer's shoulder. At first her hand phased through, feeling slimy, but then it was as if he suddenly became solid and her hand was pushed out until it rested exactly where she had intended it to. Slimer actually looked content and relaxed.

"My name's Fluttershy," she introduced herself. "I understand your friends call you Slimer?"

"Uh huh," Slimer replied with a smile.

"Could you tell us what happened to you? How you got here in Canterlot?"

Slimer floated up again, adopting a thoughtful pose as he considered the request. Fluttershy didn't seem to mind that her hand was now covered in Ectoplasm. After a moment, Slimer nodded before pantomiming his response. The other girls and Principal Celestia actually came close as Slimer tried to relate the events from his perspective, speaking in gibberish as he went.

He first shaped himself into a building, some kind of skyscraper, then indicated that he and others had entered it. He then shapeshifted to look like some kind of scary monster, then shifted to a person with some kind of pack. Afterwords he returned to normal and flew around as if he was in a dogfight.

"Ok... so... you and some friends went into a tower, and got into a fight with something nasty," Rainbow Dash summarized. Slimer nodded and pointed at the athlete before proceeding with his tale. He indicated that the battle wasn't going well. He, disturbingly, separated his hands and put them together to represent a person and set that off to the side before flying a short distance away and making like someone was telling him to go somewhere. He then flew over to his hands as if he was going to help.

"Oh oh! I got this one!" Pinkie exclaimed as she hopped up and down. "Somebody told you to go help Kylie when the battle went south!"

After reattaching his hands, Slimer smiled and pointed at Pinkie Pie, earning a happy squee. Slimer than made like he was holding someone before going bananas. Stretching and contorting himself before shooting off towards the far corner of the room. He stopped himself and floated over again as if he had been lost. After that, he bowed like an actor at the end of a performance.

"Ya went t' help Kylie, only fer somethin' to happen. Next thing ya knew, ya found yerself here in Canterlot, and have been wandering around town ever since," Applejack finished the strange story. "Which leads us t' today in th' cafeteria, and you scarin' the daylights outa Granny Smith."

"Uh huh..." Slimer replied.

"But that still doesn't explain what happened to Kylie," Sunset pointed out. She then said that there were two things that stood out in Twilight's story. Ponyville Elementary and Twilight's science project. Twilight said that it was put in storage after the event and pretty much forgotten about by her parents. It was starting to look like the girls had things to do and places to go. But before anyone can voice this, Slimer waved his arms to get their attention. After a moment, he shapeshifted into a generic, stereotype ghost and floated around making spooky noises before pointing in multiple directions. This time it was Twilight who interpreted the message.

"Are you saying that paranormal activity has been increasing in town?"

"Yea yea!" Slimer replied before continuing in gibberish, although it sounded like the words "Bad Juju" were in the string of incomprehensible noises.

"Well... that doesn't sound good," Rarity said as she put a hand on her hip.

"No it doesn't," Twilight replied. "But... the question is... why? Why now?"

"Good question..." Sunset trailed off. "One thing at a time though. We need to look at Twilight's old project, then... probably pay a visit to Ponyville Elementary."

After cleaning up the Chemistry Lab, the girls made their way over to Twilight's parents' house. Slimer was being good and hiding in a jar in Fluttershy's backpack. After meeting Twilight's parents, Twilight led them down into the basement where she remembered her old project was stored.

"I was basically doing the whole Potato Battery thing," Twilight explained as she unpacked the device. "Just... with five potatoes in series instead of a single potato."

Sunset looked over the old device. She had to admit, it was pretty cool. But nothing she could see indicated anything special. Nothing that could draw anything magical into it. After a moment Sunset sighed and stepped away.

"Dead end," she said. "I don't see anything that would have caused you to get zapped."

"I... agree," Twilight replied. "I didn't use any special materials or anything."

"Just leaves one variable left," Rarity spoke up, attracting the attention of everyone present. She then said that if it wasn't the project itself, it had to be the location. The girls all nodded in agreement.

Next stop... Ponyville Elementary.


	4. Circles in Circles

Chapter 4

Circles in Circles

Right after school, the girls met in the parking lot to figure out how to get to Ponyville Elementary. Applejack just leaned against the pickup truck her grandmother got her after getting her driver's license as she listened to everyone talk. Out of all seven of them, only Applejack and Pinkie Pie were able to drive. While Applejack actually had her driver's license, Pinkie Pie only had a Learner's Permit. Getting all seven of them there was going to be a logistical nightmare. While Applejack could rig up a seat in the back of her truck, with seat belts, she'd only be able to take five total, two passengers in the cab and the other three in the bed. That left one out. If Pinkie was supervised, it wouldn't have been a problem legally.

"Wait a minute," Pinkie spoke up. "Don't we all have permits because of the Friendship Games?"

Sunset blinked before facepalming.

"The motocross event," she said. "If we didn't have one, we had to get one to participate in that portion."

"Well... we still got those dirt bikes?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"They're not street legal Rainbow Dash," Rarity shot the athlete down. "But the point does remain. All of us can drive legally. We just need a supervisor. And we have been taking Driver's Ed classes together. Well... except for Applejack of course."

"I'll take the bus."

All eyes turned to Twilight Sparkle. The science girl just rubbed the back of her neck and said that she was used to using the bus to get around town, and was familiar with the routes. She also said that it would take time to rig up the pickup to take more passengers. By the time they get going, she should be at or near Ponyville Elementary depending on traffic and how many stops are made.

After a moment, Applejack sighed and nodded, saying they would meet her there. As Twilight headed for the bus stop, the remaining girls deliberated on if they should wait at school or chance it and head out with Applejack to Sweet Apple Acres. Eventually they decided to just chance it. Applejack knew some back roads with lower speed limits so safety would be top priority. Once everyone piled into the truck, with Fluttershy and Rarity in the cab and the rest in the back, Applejack fired up her pickup and headed out.

* * *

While on the bus, Twilight Sparkle dug into her backpack to take inventory on what she had available for this investigation. Magic/PKE Detector, Flashlights, camcorder, EMF detector (just in case), rubber gloves, sample cups...

She smiled as she closed her backpack. It had been years since she had been to Ponyville Elementary. It felt a little strange, but at the same time exciting.

Looking out the window, Twilight thought about the past and sighed. Her reflection in the window shifted to represent Kylie, who looked a little concerned.

 _"You sure you can do this Twilight? I mean... you haven't been back to that auditorium since it happened."_

Twilight nodded, knowing that any verbal response might make her look crazy to the other passengers. Kylie seemed to figure this out and nodded in response.

 _"Well... no matter what happens, I'm here for you. Whether I want to or not."_

Twilight suppressed a laugh at that last part. She knew Kylie was a good person. She just tended to be a little more rough around the edges. But over the years Twilight had learned that she still cared for her friends, even if she didn't always show it.

After a moment, Twilight closed her eyes and just started humming a song to pass the time.

* * *

Applejack's truck pulled in at Sweet Apple Acres, and everyone climbed out. Fluttershy looked into her backpack to check on Slimer, who was again in a jar. She was about to pull Slimer out when the sound of the front door opening distracted her. Looking up, Fluttershy saw Granny Smith standing there with a warm smile on her face.

"Well... ya shoulda called ahead Applejack," the older woman said. "Ah woulda made another pie."

If there was something to be said about the Apple family, it was their country hospitality. They treated friends like family, and always had some kind of apple based food item ready for guests.

"Sorry Granny, but this was kinda last minute," Applejack admitted. "Gotta get the back seat for mah truck fer the girls."

"Ya mean t' tell me ya drove them out here without that seat?"

"Took the slower back roads."

"Ah... well... as long as ya took it slow ah guess. That seat should be in th' barn where ya left it."

Applejack smiled and motioned for someone to follow her. Rainbow Dash volunteered and the pair went off out behind the house. Granny Smith noticed how Fluttershy was holding her backpack and asked what was inside.

"Um... well... er..." the shy girl trailed off, unsure how to proceed before pulling out the jar and setting it on the ground. Granny Smith raised an eyebrow as all she could tell was it was full of a glowing, green substance.

"Before I open the jar, will you give him a chance to apologize?" Fluttershy asked.

"Him? What'cha talkin' about child?" Granny Smith asked.

Sunset, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity stepped back, fully expecting their lunch lady to get a broom and start swinging if Fluttershy actually did open the jar.

Which she did.

Popping out of the jar in a comedic way came Slimer, who shook himself back into shape and looked around. Granny Smith gasped and backed away, but Fluttershy held out a hand.

"Its alright. He's actually harmless," she said before turning her attention to Slimer. "Now Slimer, say you're sorry about scaring Granny Smith back at School."

For a moment, it looked like Slimer was going to refuse. But one look at Fluttershy's face seemed to melt the ghost's heart and he turned to face the elderly woman and bowed his head.

"Sorry..." he said.

"Well... that was... somethin'. Ya sound sincere enough," Granny Smith said after a minute. "But ah'm warnin' ya right now. Ya get outa line, ah'll wallop ya with a broomstick. Ya hear me?"

Slimer nodded as he stayed by Fluttershy. When everyone settled down, Granny Smith offered to get everyone some apple cider. Although she was unsure about Slimer, she even offered the ghost a bottle as a peace offering. Surprisingly enough, Slimer behaved himself and didn't just chug the bottle in one go. He seemed to genuinely want to be at his best in front of the matriarch of the Apple family.

Sunset actually smiled before taking a drink. Felt like things were starting to work out already. But in the back of her mind, she knew that it wasn't that easy. If what Slimer told them was true, then the whole town may be in trouble because of other ghosts appearing. And they may not be as friendly as Slimer. Sunset wasn't even sure how they could combat this threat, or even what was causing it in the first place. If she was back in Equestria, she was confident that her magic would be able to work. But here in the Human World that wasn't exactly an option. They had to come up with some other solution.

Twilight's locket seemed to be capable of trapping a ghost, but the way it was starting to smoke when Twilight released Slimer meant that it wasn't a permanent solution. But maybe it was a step in the right direction. The question was... what was the next step?

Applejack and Rainbow Dash hauled the back seat over and started setting it up in the truck bed. It was clear the two of them had been discussing stuff about the current situation as well. After a few minutes, the seat was secure and seat belts tested.

"Thanks fer the cider Granny," Applejack said. "Ah wish we could stay fer pie, but Twilight's wantin' t' meet us somewhere."

"Ah understand," Granny Smith said with a smile. "Somethin' tells me its somethin' big y'all gettin' involved in. Y'all take care now, and be careful."

"We will," Sunset said as she climbed back into the bed of the truck. As everyone loaded up, Slimer took a moment to collect the empty bottles and carefully arrange them in a recycling bin before giving a respectful bow to Granny Smith. The older woman actually chuckled at the ghost's antics and waved goodbye as he flew over to the truck. Fluttershy held the jar as he slid back inside, and closed the lid. They weren't comfortable with having the Spud out and about with them yet, so it was agreed by everyone that Slimer would travel via jar for now. While he complained at first, it was Fluttershy who convinced him that it was necessary for the time being.

Once everyone was secure, Applejack started up the truck and they were off.

* * *

Twilight looked at the front door to Ponyville Elementary as she heard the sound of Applejack's truck pull into the parking lot. Looking back at her friends, she smiled before pulling out the Magic Detector when they came up to her.

"Well... here we go," Sunset said as she put a reassuring hand on Twilight's shoulder. With a nod, the seven girls entered the school and made their way to the auditorium. For a moment, Twilight hesitated at the door, but after taking a deep breath, she stepped through and faced her past.

The auditorium was currently empty, and... just like she remembered it. Bringing up her Magic Detector, Twilight started doing a PKE sweep. There was a bit of a spike at one particular spot, and it took Twilight a moment to realize that was the exact spot where her science project had been set up.

For what seemed like hours, the group searched the auditorium for clues and... found nothing. Rainbow Dash was leaning against a shelf that was on a wall, quietly singing something that had a mix of English and Japanese lyrics when she looked down and noticed something odd on the floor. Getting down onto her knees, Rainbow Dash ran a hand across the floor and felt grooves in the tile.

"I think I found something!" the athlete called out. Everyone ran over to see what she found, and Rainbow Dash pointed out the grooves in the floor.

"Rainbow Dash, could you move please?" Rarity said, noticing something about the grooves. The chromatic haired girl asked why, only to have Rarity physically move her out of the way. To her detail oriented eye, the grooves looked like some kind of trail. Sure enough, she managed to trace them to the shelf. Narrowing her eyes, Rarity actually got down on her stomach to get a closer look. It was then that she noticed something odd about the wall behind the shelf. The floor boards that butted up against the shelf seemed to just stop behind it. She also felt a bit of a breeze from under the shelf, which meant there was something behind it.

"Applejack, think you can move this thing?" Rarity asked as she pushed herself back to her feet.

"Ah think so if ah had some help. Why?"

"Humor me."

Muttering under her breath, Applejack asked Sunset to give her a hand. The pair braced themselves against the shelf and put all their weight against it. After a moment, they were able to shove it across the floor. What they discovered behind the shelf was a hidden doorway.

"Just as I though," Rarity said with a satisfied smirk. "I felt airflow from under the shelf. That meant either a vent or a door. But the question is... why hide a door behind a shelf?"

"That shelf's always been there," Twilight said.

"Maybe its the Secret Teacher Apartments!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed,

All eyes turned to the pink party girl. Surprisingly enough, Applejack didn't object to the idea. She said that it was a common theory among the students at the time that the Staff actually lived somewhere in the school. She also said that it was a pretty common belief among elementary school students. Twilight pulled out some flashlights and handed them out before bringing the Magic Detector up towards the door. The readings spiked a bit more the closer she got.

Sunset took a deep breath and put her hand on the doorknob. It took some doing, but she was able to get the door open. Seemed like it hadn't been used in years. On the other side was a staircase leading down. Clicking the flashlight on, Sunset stepped through and started heading downstairs. It was clear that the stairs lead under the auditorium, and opened up into a large chamber about the same size as the room above. The light beams of seven flashlights played across the entire room as the girls looked for anything like a light switch, as there were some interesting looking fixtures on the walls.

"What's that?" Fluttershy asked as her flashlight hit something in the center of the room.

"Aziz! Light!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed before everyone heard an audible click.

The light fixtures came to life slowly, revealing the chamber in all its glory. There was what appeared to be some kind of alter with a pedestal on the far side, and right in the middle where Fluttershy's flashlight was aimed, was some kind of circle drawn into the floor.

"Much better," Sunset wisecracked. "Thank you Aziz."

The girls spread out to examine the room as Twilight pulled out her camcorder and started recording. Sunset approached the alter and narrowed her eyes. It looked like there used to be something on the pedestal. Something that could have been a book if the design of the pedestal was any indication. The alter didn't really reveal anything though. Any decorations had been removed long ago if the layer of dust was any indication. Shaking her head, Sunset turned her attention to the circle on the floor.

"Well... this is a little disturbing," Twilight said as she went around the circle to get it from every angle. "Definitely some kind of text, but I can't make it out. Looks old. Not Latin though. Kylie's not sure what this is either."

Sunset got down on a knee and brought a hand close to the circle. Just before her fingers brushed up against the circle, they started tingling. Just like with the Ectoplasm she collected. But there was something else. Something that made her want to pull away. Narrowing her eyes, she focused on the characters themselves.

"It... can't be..." she said in disbelief.

"What is it?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"This looks like... Ancient Equestrian."

Everyone turned to look at Sunset.

"One of the things I studied as Princess Celestia's student was magic history. One of the ways a spell could be amplified would be through the use of something called a ritual circle. Instead of needing one powerful mage, you could use several mages working together. The design of the circle would act as both an amplifier and a focus. Here... look at this."

Sunset started pointing out details about the circle.

"These lines that cross the circle could be used to direct magic energy to a focusing point. And these runes here... could be part of some kind of ritual. Possibly a binding spell? I... I can't make them out though. But... whatever this was... I think it was something dark."

Standing up, Sunset had a look of determination on her face as she pulled out her cell phone and started snapping pictures of the circle from various angles.

"Um... Sunset?" Rarity spoke up. "If this is Ancient _Equestrian_... what's it doing on _Earth_? I mean... we know the Dazzlings had been here for a long time but... I don't think they would have done _this_."

"From what Twi... _Princess_ Twilight had discovered about the mirror, Starswirl the Bearded seemed to enjoy dumping some of Equestria's... _less desirable_ entities into this world as a form of exile. There's no telling what else besides the Sirens he sent here," Sunset explained.

"So... some other ancient evil from Equestria made this?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I... I don't know," Sunset admitted. "But for this to be _here_... I need to go home."

The girls looked at their redheaded friend in surprise. Applejack asked why Sunset was go back to her house, but Sunset raised a hand.

"I'm not talking about my little house here. I'm talking about going _home_. Back to Equestria," she explained. "Something like this... there's only one person I know who might be able to tell us what this is. The only person I know of with _more_ magic knowledge then Princess Twilight."

"More knowledge than Twilight?" Applejack asked. Sunset nodded.

"I... I need to see my old teacher. I need to show this to Princess Celestia."


	5. Reflection and Development

Chapter 5

Reflection and Development

It was pretty clear she was stalling at this point. Sunset Shimmer had gone through her backpack five times now to make sure she had everything she needed. She had already sent a message back via journal to have Princess Twilight open the portal, so all that needed to be done was for Sunset to step through. The girls all gathered around their friend as she fidgeted with the zipper once again. Twilight stepped forward and actually offered the camcorder that she had used at Ponyville Elementary.

"Just in case pictures alone aren't enough," she said. "Might convince this Princess Celestia that its real."

"Thanks," Sunset said with a smile as she took the camera and stuck it in her backpack.

"I'll see what I can dig up on Ponyville Elementary, and see if there's any connection with other locations around town," Rarity spoke up.

"And I'll finish work on my prototype," Twilight added.

"And I'll find us a vehicle!" Pinkie Pie chirped, drawing attention to the party girl. "What? We're gonna need one! Its a hunch!"

Sunset smiled and shook her head. It was scary how accurate her hunches tended to be. Taking a deep breath, Sunset actually slung her backpack across her shoulders and looked at the statue. There was nothing more to say really. Before she could make a move, something came through from Equestria. Something, or someone, with purple hair.

"I got your message," Princess Twilight said. "So I got here as soon as I... have no idea what that is..."

For a moment, everyone just looked at the Alicorn-turn-human, then at the source of her confusion.

"Hi," Slimer said with a wave.

Sunset couldn't help herself and laughed. Seeing the normally intelligent young woman totally confused like that was priceless. And since she decided to come through, there was actually a chance to compare her and human Twilight side by side. Physically they were the same. The only differences Sunset could see was the pink stripe in human Twilight's hair was wider, and she wore glasses. Their demeanor was a bit different too, with Princess Twilight showing some more confidence than her counterpart.

"I'll explain on the way," Sunset said as she stepped forward.

"On the way where?" Princess Twilight asked. "You didn't exactly say anything other than 'open the portal'."

With a sigh, Sunset said that something serious had come up and that she needed to speak with Princess Celestia as soon as possible. For a moment Princess Twilight had a blank look on her face before pointing up at Slimer. The redhead nodded and said that he was a part of it. With a nod The resident royal motioned towards the portal before saying something to her Canterlot High friends. While they were sad that it was only a brief meeting, they knew there was a lot to do. Princess Twilight stepped through first, and Sunset hesitated. Closing her eyes, Sunset let go of a breath she had been holding and stepped through.

One time Sunset had asked Princess Twilight about what it was like to pass through the portal. She said that it was like getting stretched and spiraling down a rainbow tunnel. For Sunset though, it was more like coming out of a hyperspace tunnel then traveling down a roller coaster at breakneck speed with nothing but stars in the distance as if she actually was traveling between worlds.

Once on the other side, Sunset lost her balance and fell to her hooves.

"Gonna have to get used to this again..." she said to herself.

"You'll have time to adjust," Princess Twilight replied. "I'll have Spike send a letter on ahead of us. It'll take us a few to get a couple train tickets for Canterlot, and I need to look for a book on magical floating..."

"Don't have time for research into Slimer Twilight," Sunset cut her off. "I can tell you what I know on the way. But I doubt you'll find anything in your library. And don't even _think_ about trying the Royal Library either."

Twilight seemed to think about it for a moment before nodding her head. Research can wait, especially if the fire-maned mare had firsthand knowledge. After saying she could wait here, Twilight left, the only sound reaching Sunset being the princess' hooves on the floor until that faded with distance.

"I hope I'm ready for this..." Sunset sighed as she closed her eyes and just sat down where she stood.

* * *

 **Human World**

After Sunset left, everyone, except Pinkie Pie, made their way to Twilight's house to discuss their next move, and see just what the scientifically inclined girl had been working on. Rarity actually pulled out her laptop and, after getting Twilight's Wi-fi password, started researching Ponyville Elementary.

Twilight's house was pretty small, with a single bedroom and maybe half a yard. She explained that her parents had gotten it for her as a starter for when she wanted to get out on her own. It even had a small basement that Twilight had turned into a workshop. There, resting on a table, was a half completed project. It looked like some sort of techno pack. Next to it was a thick cable and some kind of emitter that was in pieces. At the edge of the table was some kind of box sitting on top of a schematic for the magic capture locket. Slimer took one look at the gear and seemed to know exactly what it was supposed to be.

"You've been busy," Rainbow Dash said.

"Well... ever since I heard the rumors about Slimer, Kylie and I had a feeling that something was coming, so... I started to try and reverse engineer a Proton Pack. Not exactly easy with nothing but secondhand information, but I'm confident that I'm on the right track," Twilight replied. "One advantage I have here is that our technology is more advanced than what the Ghostbusters had in their world. Their original Packs were designed in 1984 so... we have a couple decades of advancement on that to work with."

The information dump made Rainbow Dash's eyes glaze over. After a moment she just waved her hands.

"Ok... I get it, you're making Ghost Zappers or something. But how is this going to help us now?"

"If what Slimer said was true about more ghosts..." Fluttershy trailed off. "I don't know if we can Pony Up and deal with them all."

"Ah'd feel better havin' somethin' besides our limited magic to fight with," Applejack said, pushing her hat up a bit.

Twilight nodded in response before moving over to the box. She explained that she adapted the technology that was in her locket into a new Ghost Trap. Turned out that piece of gear was easier since Twilight already had something to work off of. The PKE meter was just a modification to her existing Magic Detector, so making more would be no problem whatsoever. She then said it might take her a few days to finish the prototype Proton Pack, but she wouldn't mind having some help.

Upstairs, Rarity found something interesting about the construction of Ponyville Elementary. Apparently one of the big names behind the school's construction was rumored to be tied to some secret Cult. Digging into the Internet for more information, she learned that this same person had actually won contracts for the Canterlot Library, City Hall, and even Crystal Prep. They almost got the contract for Canterlot High, but were beat out by someone else.

"Hm... I wonder..." Rarity said to herself as she started to dig into the guy himself. Her research lead her to a site dedicated to occult research. There, she found some more information, and even a name for this rumored Cult.

The Cult of Eternal Night.

Putting some music on, Rarity dove in deeper. She had a feeling it was going to be a long night tonight.

* * *

 **Equestria**

The train ride to Canterlot was relatively uneventful. Sunset explained what she knew about Slimer, and even showed Twilight the Cup O' Slime that she had brought with her as evidence. As to what spurred her into coming back to Equestria, Sunset only said that she would explain that with Princess Celestia, so that she wouldn't have to explain it more than once. As they stepped off the train, Sunset was again overcome with nervousness. She hadn't been here for a few years. It felt strange standing in the Capitol with foreign tech in her saddlebag, as well as the fact that the last time she was here she kinda... ran away.

Sunset's train of thought was broken with a wave of fear. Standing before the two was the armored form of a member of the Royal Guard. The armored Pegasus regarded both mares with a neutral look before focusing on Twilight.

"Princess, I have been asked to escort you and your companion to the Castle," he said.

"I appreciate the offer, but I know my way around Canterlot," Twilight said.

"I'm afraid I must insist Princess," the Guard replied. "My orders come directly from Princess Celestia."

Sighing in defeat, Twilight motioned for the Guard to lead on. Sunset heard her mutter under her breath about not being able to stop for a doughnut on the way. Apparently, even Celestia's best student was a fan of a local doughnut shop that was rather popular in town. Sunset couldn't help but smile as she remembered enjoying a chocolate doughnut every once in a while herself, with a mug of hot chocolate on a cold winter day.

Ok... Sunset was a chocoholic. She just loved chocolate. Every once in a while she would go to this little hole-in-the-wall cafe in the human world and get a mug of steaming Hot Chocolate to relax after a particularly stressful day at School.

The Guard took them on the most direct route to the Castle, then escorted them through said Castle until they reached a set of massive doors.

"Both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are waiting for you," he said as he stepped aside.

Swallowing hard, Sunset approached the doors, and her perceived doom. Twilight put a hoof on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile. Easy for her to do. _She_ didn't turn her back on the most powerful being in the kingdom.

Standing on a platform on the other end of the chamber, as regal as can be, stood two Alicorns. The shorter one was darker and seemed to have an overall night theme to her appearance. That was Princess Luna. Sunset had to admit, she seemed more majestic than her human counterpart. And less casual based on her stance. The other... easily towering over everyone in the room, was the Solar Princess herself. And she had the same caring look in her eyes that Sunset remembered.

"I made a mistake..." Sunset said under her breath. "I... I don't belong here. I don't deserve to be in _her_ presence."

"Its going to be alright Sunset," Twilight reassured her. "I've been letting Princess Celestia know about your progress."

Again biting her lip, Sunset Shimmer approached the Royal Sisters. Celestia smiled as she looked down at her former student, finally able to see her again after so long. After meeting the hesitant eyes of Sunset Shimmer, Celestia jumped down and pulled the mare into a hug.

"It is good to see you again Sunset," Celestia said, catching Sunset off guard.

"Uh... yea... good to see you too," she replied. "And... thanks for... not throwing me into the dungeon or anything..."

"Why would I do that?"

After a brief conversation, and feeling better about everything in general, Sunset opened her saddlebag and produced three items. Her cell phone, human Twilight's camcorder, and the Cup O' Slime. She explained that some strange things had been happening and that one thing in particular was what brought her back home. After showing the Ectoplasm, which seemed to interest both princesses, Sunset brought up the cell phone and showed the pictures of the ritual circle. As soon as she saw it, Celestia's expression turned dark.

"Do you have a better picture of this?" she asked.

"Technically... I can do you one better," Sunset replied as she levitated the camcorder.

It was the first time Celestia saw Sunset in her human form, and the first time she saw something like this camcorder. But again, her attention was on the ritual circle. As the video played out, complete with audio, Celestia couldn't help but feel a bit of pride in the fact that Sunset at least remembered some of her lessons.

"Your assessment of the circle is correct Sunset," Celestia said. "This is a ritual circle, and that is Ancient Equestrian. However... that is not a binding spell."

"Then what is it?"

"An amplification spell. Whatever spell they were trying to cast, they were trying to make it as powerful as possible. And the arrangement... its meant to amplify a _summoning_ spell. But as to what they wanted to summon... I do not know."

Sunset narrowed her eyes in thought. Surprisingly, it was Twilight who spoke up, mentioning that Sunset said that there had been an increase in paranormal activity in the human world. She went on to connect the increase in activity to the summoning spell, stating that even if they weren't successful, it was likely that they unintentionally summoned spirits in the process.

"If that's the case, then why now?" Sunset asked. "What changed to cause this spike? I mean... the only thing I can think of would be the dimensional tears that happened during the Friendship Games, but that was taken care of real fast."

"That, I believe, is for you to determine Sunset Shimmer," Princess Luna said. "And I believe your courage will help to light the way."


	6. New Toys

Chapter 6

New Toys

For the last couple days, Twilight Sparkle had been working almost non stop to finish the Prototype. The girls had actually stayed over at her place, mostly to make sure she actually _eats_ and _sleeps_. Rarity's hair wasn't as perfect as usual, showing she had been almost as serious about the research as Twilight was with her work. Rainbow Dash had actually gone upstairs to get something to eat, and caught Rarity buried in research. The fashion girl had several bags of M &Ms on the table next to her, a couple already empty, a bottle of Coke, and it looked like she was actually using those glasses she wore when working on clothes as a makeshift hairband to keep her hair out of her face. Also she was positive she heard that music Rarity was listening to in a movie.

"Well... I'm sure you did. Akira Ifukube's work was in quite a few _Godzilla_ movies," Rarity had defended herself.

"You and _Godzilla_ movies?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"When researching, I tend to put on movie scores. John Williams, Alan Silvestri... I've actually got a playlist."

* * *

Twilight Sparkle set her tools down and closed up the Proton Pack with a sigh before sitting down. Fluttershy came over with a bottle of water, and the science girl happily accepted it.

"Its finished..." she trailed off. "At least... I think it is."

"So now what?" Fluttershy asked.

"Now... we test it. And hope it doesn't blow us to Manhattan."

As Twilight picked up the Proton Pack, Applejack stepped forward and took hold of one of the straps. It was pretty clear that she was volunteering to test it out. With a nod, Twilight helped the rancher slip the Pack on before she started messing with something on the pack itself.

"Ok... should probably go outside to test it," Twilight said. "I'll set the power to... fifty percent. That should... well... er... minimize potential tissue damage."

"Ya make it sound like this thang's gonna explode," Applejack said.

"Well... _theoretically_... it should work. Realistically... we _did_ just put an unlicensed Nuclear Accelerator on your back."

The look on Applejack's face when Twilight used the word Nuclear made it clear she was starting to have second thoughts about all this. Even the other girls visibly shrank back at that. Twilight tried to reassure Applejack, saying that Kylie's confident the device will work as designed. Before anything else could be said, the sound of someone just playing the drums on a car horn came. Forgetting about the man portable nuclear device on Applejack's back, the group ran upstairs and out the front door. Outside they found Pinkie Pie sitting in the cab of a gray Ford E-350 van with that big cheese grin she was known for. At first they thought Pinkie was alone, but they noticed two other people in the van.

"Hi guys! Look what I found!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"How..."

"I helped," the passenger said as she came out, revealing Vice Principal Luna. "Pinkie had been sitting on the steps at school for a while. After explaining the situation, Celestia and I decided to help in any way we can."

"When we got back to school with the van, which I figured needed to be big enough for not only seven of us, but any gear we get, we picked up Sunset and came out here!" Pinkie chirped as Sunset came out from the back. Luna actually said that, although a few turns were taken a bit fast, Pinkie's driving skills were improving.

"Well... we were just about to test the Proton Pack," Twilight said, holding a Ghost Trap. "Anybody seen Slimer?"

"I think he's out back," Fluttershy said.

As soon as everyone made their way out back, Twilight activated Applejack's Proton Pack and started giving her a rundown on all the important stuff.

"Ok... main thing to remember is the Neutrona Wand is the business end. Don't point it at anyone. While the Proton Stream won't punch a hole in anything, it will burn, and wreck stuff. Also, the stream won't be laser straight. It will fluctuate, so be ready to adjust. Now... as ghosts are made up of Negative energy, the Proton Packs are meant to counteract that energy to allow for an easier capture. Once you get a Capture Stream on, you'll have to... well... wrangle the ghost into position for the Trap to do its thing. Think of it as a combination of... roping a bull and fishing. With... a potentially destructive energy tether. Anyways... when you have a hold of the ghost, it will fight back. It goes one way, you pull the opposite way."

While Applejack rolled her eyes at the stereotype, considering she was pretty much a rancher even though she lived on an apple farm, the idea of wrangling a normally intangible thing brought a smile to her face.

"Slimer! Wanna give us a hand with this?" Applejack called out.

The Spud instantly denied her, crossed his arms across his chest, and turned his back.

"Slimer..." Fluttershy said, approaching the ghost. "You're the only one who can help. Um... if you do... I'll buy you a hogie."

Slimer turned to face Fluttershy, and tilted to the side in thought before holding up two fingers.

"Alright. Two hogies. But only if you help," Fluttershy said.

That seemed to work. The resident animal lover seemed to not only have some kind of power over Slimer, meaning he just couldn't say no to that kind face, she seemed to have figured him out. After stretching a bit, which included actually pulling himself longer physically, the green Spud flew up into the sky and made like a Football Linebacker. Applejack called up to him and suggested that he move around to try and make it as realistic as possible.

Reaching back, the rancher took hold of the Neutrona Wand and pulled it out.

"Before you get started I want to point out a couple things," Twilight said before pointing at an LED light bar. "This here will track the heat level. While I was able to put in some Heat Sinks, it will still overheat with prolonged use. If it overheats, it will shut down and vent automatically. Process only takes a couple seconds. You can manually vent excess heat by pulling down on the grip, kinda like a lever action rifle."

Applejack looked at the Neutrona Wand and found both things Twilight mentioned. She felt where the grip separated, adjusted her grip, and pulled. Sure enough, it was like a lever action. The main issue was you had to readjust to do it. Applejack thought for a moment.

"Good idea, but ya might wanna consider addin' a thang so ya don't hafta readjust. Like an actual lever action rifle. Just pull down, or push with the back of yer hand. Might make it faster."

"I'll keep that in mind," Twilight said before stepping back and setting the Ghost Trap in the middle of the yard. "Ok... moment of truth... Feel like I should say something profound..."

"Hold on to your butts!" Pinkie Pie supplied.

"Good enough," Twilight sighed as Luna put a hand on her shoulder.

Taking a deep breath, Applejack shifted her stance for better balance, took aim, and hit the trigger.

An orange stream with arcing blue energy erupted from the Neutrona Wand, catching Applejack off guard for a moment.

"Whoa Nelly!" Applejack exclaimed before recovering.

As soon as it hit Slimer, the Spud cried out and flew around wildly as memories of the last time a Proton Pack was used on him came rushing back. But wherever he went, the Proton Stream followed. Applejack managed to keep it on target before the beam suddenly changed, wrapping itself around Slimer. She could even feel the change, as there was suddenly tension coming from the wand. This had to be the Capture Mode Twilight mentioned. Spreading her feet a bit more, Applejack pulled on the energy tether. Sure enough, Slimer started moving in the direction she was pulling before he started fighting back. Just as Twilight suggested, Applejack pulled in the opposite direction Slimer pulled. The grin on the country girl's face made it clear she was having fun now. At one point when Applejack pulled down, her finger slipped and hit a button. The tether suddenly flared, and Slimer went shooting straight down into the ground. Instead of phasing through though, Slimer just... slammed into the ground and looked stunned.

Not arguing, Applejack took advantage of the situation to maneuver Slimer over the Ghost Trap and... Twilight pushed a button. The trap opened up, and a more powerful version of the vortex they saw from Twilight's Locket sucked Slimer in and closed. The Capture Stream instantly shut off, and the trap gave off a couple beeps.

"Ok... what did you do?" Sunset asked.

"Ah... donno..." Applejack admitted as she vented the heat from her pack. "Finger slipped when I pulled."

"Looks like you goosed the Capture Stream, which... well... slammed Slimer into the ground," Twilight said as she took notes. "Pretty good strategy to weaken a Ghost."

After taking more notes, Twilight went over to the Ghost Trap and opened it, releasing Slimer. Said Spud spun up into the sky and swept his arms out to his sides.

"Tadaa!" he said with a big smile.

"Nice," Sunset said. "How long to make more?"

"Now that I know what I'm doing? Give me a week and I should have enough Packs for everyone, plenty of Traps and PKE Meters... and maybe something to store all the captured Ghosts in. The problem though... is where to store it all."

"Why not the old bomb shelter in Canterlot High?"

All eyes turned to Vice Principal Luna. The older woman just shrugged, saying that the school had a built in Nuclear Bomb Shelter that hasn't been used in decades and had an independent power supply. She also said that her sister had taken an interest in what was going on after meeting Slimer.

"Ok... so we got the gear, a base, and a vehicle..." Sunset said.

"I know a guy," Rainbow Dash spoke up. "Give him some time, he'll be able to pimp out the van with whatever we need. Better suspension, emergency lights, new paint job... dude's a miracle worker! And I heard he gives discounts to anyone from Canterlot High."

"If I may?" Rarity said, looking over a tablet. "I've done some research and I found a few... things."

Applejack holstered her Neutrona Wand and crossed her arms across her chest as everyone gathered around.

"Well... I found something odd in the history of Ponyville Elementary. Apparently the school was built by a company led by a man named Altair Vikers. Some sources say he had ties to a secret group known as the Cult of Eternal Night. Now... Vikers was also apparently involved in the construction of City Hall, the city Library, and... Crystal Prep. He almost had the contract for Canterlot High, but was beat out by a... Starswirl Contracting Company. I... haven't been able to find anything on them. Must have gone out of business at some point after Canterlot High was built.

Anyways... This Cult of Eternal Night is apparently dedicated to the worship of an exiled Goddess. Their goal, according to the occult sites I found, is to free their Goddess, who in turn will bring about Eternal Night."

Sunset thought for a moment. The story of this Goddess seemed familiar. She asked about where this Goddess was supposed to have been exiled to, and the response shocked her.

"Apparently this Goddess was exiled to the Moon."

"No... way..." Sunset gasped. "That's... that's impossible!"

"Ya alright there Sunset?" Applejack asked.

"It... I spoke to her! Twilight and her friends freed her from... how... why... what..."

"Sunset?" Slimer asked, coming down to be level with the girls.

Sunset Shimmer dropped her backpack to the ground and started pacing. As she did so she was saying things to herself rapid fire. Nothing seemed to make sense as she just kept babbling about this and that. Eventually, Vice Principal Luna stopped the girl and placed both hands on the redhead's shoulders.

"Sunset," she said. "Calm down. Take a deep breath, then tell us what's wrong."

Sunset closed her eyes and did so.

"The Mare in the Moon is an Equestrian story. One that was actually true. A thousand years ago, both Luna and Celestia ruled Equestria equally. But ponies seemed to prefer the day, and slept at night. Princess Luna became jealous of this. She put a lot of work into each night, only for it to be ignored by her subjects in favor of her sister's daylight. Consumed by her jealousy, Princess Luna became a being known as Nightmare Moon and tried to usurp the throne. She claimed that the night would be eternal. Princess Celestia had no choice but to fight her own sister. Using the Elements of Harmony, Princess Celestia... banished her own sister to the moon.

A few years ago, she returned. Princess Twilight and her friends used the Elements to free Princess Luna from her darkness, restoring her. Nightmare Moon was defeated! But you're telling me that we may have an old Cult who _worships Nightmare Moon_ here _in the Human world?_ And they're trying to free Nightmare Moon?!"

"Well... when you put it that way... it does sound ridiculous..." Rarity trailed off. "I mean... that would imply that this Cult has ties to Equestria and... actually... I'm starting to think that the whole Cult idea is just a conspiracy theory now..."

"Its true."

Again, all eyes turned to Luna, this time in shock. How could she say that? Luna sighed and closed her eyes before explaining that the Cult was real. She knew because... she once got in with them in her teenage years. She thought it was just some kind of club, and she was rather rebellious at that time. It took her own sister practically beating some sense into her for Luna to realize that it was a bad crowd she was associating with, and Luna left them without warning. She then said that she would do anything in her power to help the girls if the Cult was involved.

"So... when do we leave?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"What do you mean by that?" Sunset asked.

"Well... think about it. We've dealt with you turning into a raging she-demon... no offense..."

"None taken."

"We've dealt with the Dazzlings, who were frickin' magical Sirens from Equestria, and we've dealt with a power crazed she-demon Sci-Twi... uh... no offense."

"None taken," Twilight replied, kinda smiling at the Sci-Twi nickname.

"We've basically made it our _thing_ to save the world!" Rainbow Dash finished. "So... when do we start?"


	7. Helloooooo Canterlot!

Chapter 7

Helloooooo Canterlot!

AKA: _Never_ piss off Pinkie

On a corner in downtown Canterlot, some kids walked up to an Ice Cream Truck. They had some money and were eager to get some Ice Cream.

What they got was a fire hose of Slime to the face, squealing tires, and no Ice Cream.

* * *

It had been about a week since the successful test of the Proton Pack. With help from other students at Canterlot High, the girls were setting up shop in the Bomb Shelter. Twilight was supervising the installation of the brand new Ghost Containment Unit, so she wouldn't have to constantly make new traps. The GCU could store any Ghosts they trap, in theory, allowing them to actually empty the traps safely.

The van got a total makeover. White paint job, Ghostbusters symbol on the side, emergency lights and siren, a few do dads to help track ghosts... in short, it was now the Ecto-Van. Complete with Ecto-Van license plates. Rainbow Dash's contact really was a Miracle Worker.

Rarity had not only made the jumpsuit Twilight asked for, she made enough for everyone and even included name tags.

News agencies around town were already starting to report paranormal activity, which was making the girls worried. They didn't know where to even start. And the worst part was... they didn't know how to take any calls or anything! They were totally making things up as they went!

* * *

Outside Canterlot High, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were kicking a ball back and forth when they saw an Ice Cream Truck pull up.

"You two want ice cream?" Scootaloo asked.

"Sure," Sweetie Belle replied.

"Ah could go fer a strawberry," Apple Bloom said with a smile.

The trio approached the Ice Cream Truck, but felt like something was off about this particular truck. They were about to say something when the window opened up, and the three girls were sprayed with green slime. Pinkie Pie happened to be skipping along the sidewalk as this happened and ran over. The Ice Cream Truck burned rubber to peel out of the parking lot.

"Ohmygosh! Are you three alright?" Pinkie Pie asked the slimed girls.

"Rarity's gonna kill me..." Sweetie Belle moaned, looking at herself and trying to remove the slime.

"That was soooo not cool," Scootaloo deadpanned.

"Ah jus' wanted a strawberry bar..." Apple Bloom cried.

Pinkie Pie looked up and glared at the departing Ice Cream Truck, which took on a green glow, before helping the girls to their feet. She then guided them down to the Bomb Shelter where they were cleaned up by Twilight and Rarity. But the party girl had a neutral look on her face before moving over to where they had their lockers and pulled out her jumpsuit. The others saw this and looked at each other.

"Pinkie?" Sunset asked. "Did... did you see what did this to the Crusaders?"

"Yea... I saw it," Pinkie said in a neutral tone before approaching Apple Bloom and putting a hand on the young country girl's shoulder. "I will avenge you."

With that, Pinkie Pie grabbed a Proton Pack, put it on, and made her way upstairs. The other girls looked at each other before they realized what was going on. They basically just got a call. Their first job. And it had pulled right up to the School itself! After a moment, all six of the remaining girls were scrambling to get dressed and geared up.

By the time the girls caught up to Pinkie Pie, she was already in the Ecto-Van with a serious look on her face. Applejack and the others set their Proton Packs in the back and climbed in, with the country girl in the driver's seat. Twilight was already messing with a screen as they fired up the van and pulled out of the parking lot. Rainbow Dash lamented the lack of awesome reveal via garage opening, before Fluttershy pointed out they didn't have a garage at Canterlot High.

"I got a mobile PKE hit!" Twilight said. "Pinkie, what was it?"

"A demonic Ice Cream truck," Pinkie said. "Nobody, but NOBODY, makes one of my friends cry!"

Sunset thought about it for a moment before coming up with an idea.

"We're not gonna be able to trap it from the van. Applejack, take us to 5th and Denning. Its a pretty quiet intersection. Drop us off there. We'll set up a roadblock or something. You, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight can find this thing again and drive it to us."

"Hounds t' the Hunters," Applejack said with a smile. "Ah like that idea. How we gonna explain this t' the Police though?"

"Uh... not a clue..." Sunset admitted.

* * *

Officer Silver Badge was leaning back as he sat at 5th and Denning waiting for a call. He really wanted to find that blasted Ice Cream Truck that had assaulted his little girl, but every time a Police Cruiser tried to pull it over, it just... it was unbelievable! It would pass right through solid objects to get away! They already lost two cars that way.

The Canterlot Police Department had been getting swamped with calls about ghosts for the last week, and there was just nothing they could do!

Silver Badge sat up as a large white van pulled up. The whole thing looked like something from some low budget sci-fi movie with all the gadgets on the roof. The side opened up, and four high school girls came out with some equipment. Getting out of his car, Silver Badge approached them as if this wasn't suspicious behavior, he didn't know what was.

"Good afternoon girls," he called out. The redhead turned and bit her lip.

"Uh... hi..." she replied.

"What's all this?"

"Well... its kinda hard to explain..."

"We're on the trail of an ectoplasmic vehicle that was recently at Canterlot High," a purple haired girl said from inside.

"Uh... short version... we're trying to catch a ghost Ice Cream Truck that had just slimed three of our classmates," the redhead said.

Silver Badge blinked. They just pretty much described the Truck and what it had done to his daughter! And they seemed to think they could actually stop it!

"Look... I don't know if you..."

"At least we're tryin' somethin'!" the girl with the Cowboy hat in the van called out.

"Well... if you're talking about the same Ice Cream Truck... Canterlot PD's been frustrated by it. And that thing assaulted my daughter. If you girls think you really can stop that thing... I'll do what I can to help. Things have been going crazy around the city and... we're not trained for it," Silver Badge said.

"Well... then let's see if we can make a dent," the redhead said. "Could you call ahead and let others know not to pull over our van? We're gonna try and drive the Ghost Truck here. I'm thinking of setting the trap in the middle of the road."

"Right now... I'm willing to try anything."

 _"All units, be advised. Suspect Vehicle sighted on Center Street, proceeding east bound. Vehicle described as a glowing, green Ice Cream Truck. All units in the vicinity of Center Street respond."_

"This is Baker-22. Recommend belaying that response call. We got a... specialized unit about to respond. Responding unit is a white Ford E-350 with blue lights and... sci-fi stuff on the roof. Recommend setting up roadblocks from Center to 5th and Denning. Hard to explain, but they might be able to actually catch this bastard."

 _"Say again Baker-22?"_

"We got teenagers with a van and some fancy gear about to go hunting that Ice Cream Truck. I'm suggesting we let them try."

"We're from Canterlot High," the redhead said.

"Uh... They also say they're from Canterlot High School."

 _"Uh... roger Baker-22. All units, go on standby. Allow special unit to proceed."_

With a nod, they closed up the van. Applejack flipped a couple switches, and they were rewarded with the blue lights going off, and a rather unique siren. With a call of good luck, the Ecto-Van pulled away and went down the street.

"Well... lets get set up," the redhead said as she pulled a box off her belt. "I'm Sunset Shimmer. And... I guess you can call us the Ghostbusters."

* * *

Applejack stuck her tongue out the side of her mouth as she drove through traffic to get to Center Street. Twilight was in the back, manning the PKE Tracker and calling out directions to get them closer. They did attract attention with their lights and siren, but they weren't concerned with the rubber necking people. They were hunting an evil Ice Cream Truck. Surprisingly enough, it looked like the Police were setting up roadblocks to clear a path for them through downtown.

"Got a hit!" Twilight reported. "Keep going forward!"

Soon enough they found the Ice Cream Truck rolling down Center, and pulled in behind it with sirens blaring. Pinkie undid her seat belt, rolled down the window, and pulled herself out so she was pretty much sitting on the door.

"PAYBACK TIME YOU DEMONIC ICE CREAM TRUCK!" she yelled as she primed her Proton Pack. "LOK'TAR OGAR!"

"PINKIE! WHAT TH' HELL YA DOIN' GIRL?!" Applejack yelled just as Pinkie unleashed a Proton Stream. She managed to hit the fender, but the Ghost Truck actually swerved to evade. She tried again, only to miss entirely. But Applejack noticed something. The Ghost Truck would swerve in the opposite direction Pinkie was shooting. And that gave Applejack an idea. They could use that to their advantage and actually actively drive it _to_ 5th and Denning!

"Twi! Get yer pack ready and hang out th' other side!" Applejack called out.

"What?!" Twilight shrieked. "Are you insane?!"

"That thang's swervin' to avoid Pinkie's shots! If ya get on th' other side, we can control where it goes! Even make it go straight!" Applejack explained.

"WAAAGH!" Pinkie yelled as she unleashed another Proton Stream, actually striking the Ghost Truck again.

"Pinkie can't hit around its left side," Applejack said as she took a hard left after the Ghost Truck. "You can!"

After a moment, Twilight nodded, got some goggles to help keep her glasses from getting blown off, and made sure she wouldn't fall out before getting into position herself. Applejack's idea was insane, but actually a good one. If it was actively avoiding Proton blasts, they could use that to their advantage.

You can imagine the sight of a glowing, green Ice Cream Truck being chased by a white van was enough of a sight, but the fact that said van had two girls hanging out of it, one of which was yelling out random battle cries, made quite the sight indeed. It wasn't long before a news helicopter was above them tracking their movements, even spotting the occasional Energy beam from one side or the other of the white van, which seemed to be driving the Ice Cream Truck somewhere. And... they were going over the speed limit.

While it was a little messy, it took Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle a bit to work out a system. With Applejack calling out directions, they started to actually direct the Ghost Truck where they wanted. It wasn't long before the girls were taking potshots to make the Truck go in certain directions. And while it was a little crazy and dangerous, Twilight had to admit that it was kinda fun. Pinkie Pie was still yelling out battle cries like an Amazon Warrior out for blood. Twilight made a mental note to never piss off Pinkie Pie. The party girl could certainly hold a grudge from the looks of things. And it looked like if Pinkie Pie swore revenge, it wouldn't matter if you were alive or not. She would _get_ her revenge.

* * *

"We need radios..." Rarity said as they waited.

"No kidding," Sunset agreed. "I don't even know where they are right now."

"Man... for all we know, Applejack's got that thing on the Interstate _fives states over!_ And I'm not there to see it!" Rainbow Dash groaned.

They had come up with a plan to basically use the Ghost Traps like a Spike Strip. Wait until the Ghost Truck arrived, then toss 'em out active. They actually practiced a bit with Silver Badge, picking up a few new tricks in the process.

It wasn't long before they heard something in the distance. It sounded like... the Ecto-Van's siren and... Pinkie Pie? Shortly after that, they spotted the Ghost Truck turning down 5th's with the Ecto-Van right on its tail. Fluttershy brought up some binoculars, and gasped.

"Pinkie and Twilight are hanging out the windows with the Proton Packs!" she said.

"What?!" Sunset exclaimed before taking the binoculars for herself. Sure enough, there was Pinkie on the Passenger's side, with Twilight hanging out the opposite side further back.

Tossing the binoculars to Silver Badge, Sunset called for the girls to get into position. The plan was for Fluttershy and Sunset to toss Ghost Traps, while Rarity and Rainbow Dash got ready with Capture Streams. If the Truck tried to break free, the girls would wrangle it.

At the right moment, Sunset and Fluttershy tossed the traps into the middle of the street, one in each lane, and triggered the traps. The Ghost Truck ran over Sunset's trap, got caught in the vortex, and came to a screeching halt. The Ecto-Van stopped a few feet back as the Ghost Truck struggled to break free. Rainbow Dash and Rarity blasted the offending vehicle with Proton Streams until it actually got sucked backwards towards and finally into the trap.

"Yea! We got it!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as Pinkie Pie came out and glared at the trap. After a moment the pink haired party girl broke out with the "Can't Touch This" dance, getting everyone to laugh.

"Not bad for our first actual catch huh Sunset?" Rarity asked.

"Can't believe we actually did it," Sunset replied.

"That's what you get!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, pointing at the trap with both hands. "And I just wanna say one thing."

Pinkie Pie then looked up at the news 'copter and waved.

"HELLOOOOOOOOOOO CANTERLOT! THE GHOSTBUSTERS ARE HERE!"


	8. Who you Gonna Call?

Chapter 8

Who you Gonna Call?

News had spread all over town about not only the ghosts, but what many have unofficially called the Ghostbuster Girls. Word have even reached Crystal Prep Academy.

Five particular Shadowbolts were walking down the hallway towards the cafeteria. Sunny Flare had a newspaper and was reading an article when all five girls heard something and looked up. Floating in front of them was a ghost in a suit that seemed to be regarding the girls with contempt. Indigo Zap just raised an eyebrow as if she was sizing it up. Lemon Zest... just rolled her eyes and went back to listening to her music. The last few days, Crystal Prep had had a few... incidents, but nothing major. Then again, Principal Cinch had ignored any comment on the matter at all, saying it was a distraction from their studies.

The ghost locked on to Lemon Zest as the girl brought a hand to her headphones and charged at her. The other four dove for cover, but Lemon Zest, totally engrossed in her music, had no chance. The ghost flew right through her, actually picking her up and throwing her into a wall, and covered her in Slime.

"Lemon Zest! Are you alright?" Sour Sweet asked. "Should've been paying attention..."

"Ugh..." Lemon Zest groaned from the floor. "I feel so funky."

"Well you were just violated by a non corporeal entity," Sugarcoat deadpanned.

As the girls helped their friend up, Indigo Zap looked around for the ghost. Things were escalating. While there had been a few close calls, no student had actually been physically attacked like that until now. There was no way Principal Cinch would ignore this. Lemon Zest shook her head and walked over to her locker. Just as she was reaching for the combination lock, Indigo Zap noticed every locker had a green glow from inside, and were shaking.

"Uh... Lemon? Might want to..." Indigo Zap started to say as Lemon Zest put in her combination and opened her locker... and was instantly blasted by a stream of Slime strong enough to throw her into the opposite wall and hold her there for two minutes. The sound of Lemon Zest trying to scream could be heard, along with basically outright chaos erupting all along the hallway. The Shadowbolts looked around nervously as the slime died down, allowing Lemon Zest to slide down to the floor again. Even the normally blunt Sugarcoat couldn't help but show concern for Lemon Zest, who was currently spitting up Slime.

"Gaaaaaaaaaaah! Functified _again!_ " Lemon Zest protested.

"And all in the span of five minutes," Sour Sweet pointed out. "New record!"

Indigo Zap just gave Sour Sweet a deadpan look before noticing the newspaper in Sunny Flare's hands. Snatching it out of the girl's grip, Indigo Zap looked at the front page.

"What is it?" Sunny Flare asked. Indigo Zap just turned it to show the other girls the headline.

 **The Real Deal**

 **Canterlot High Ghostbusters**

Indigo Zap then read part of the article.

"Since the unprecedented rise in paranormal activity all around Canterlot, seven high school girls have taken it upon themselves to step up to the plate. Calling themselves the Canterlot High Ghostbusters, these girls have managed to actually make a dent in the paranormal activity, and have even received help from the Canterlot Police Department for aiding in the capture of one particular Ghostly Ice Cream Truck that had been giving the Police trouble for over a week."

Indigo Zap then pointed out who exactly the Ghostbuster Girls were.

"Its the Wondercolts! The _same ones_ from the Friendship Games! And Twilight's with them!"

"So... what are you saying?" Sunny Flare asked.

"Look... I know Canterlot is our rival, but... we can't deal with this ourselves," Indigo Zap said. "So... I'm going to swallow my Shadowbolt Pride and... call Twilight."

"I wouldn't mind seeing Twilight again," Sour Sweet spoke up. "But I don't think any of us has her cellphone number."

"I do," Indigo Zap said, pulling out her smart phone. "Dean Cadence actually gave it to me after Twilight transferred."

* * *

Slimer was chowing down on a hogie that Fluttershy had bought him as the girls were looking over a map of Canterlot. Sunset was trying to find a pattern in the calls the CPD had gotten while Twilight was working on a new attachment for the Proton Packs. Since their first bust with the Ice Cream Truck, they had managed to make a bit of a name for themselves. Twilight even modified the Proton Packs to fire what she called a Boson Dart, a concentrated bolt of Boson particles that would explode on impact causing Area of Effect damage to anything in the blast radius. With some fine tuning, she managed to make it relatively safe for close proximity use.

After helping the CPD, the girls were actually given some old surplus radios, and even got the callsign Ecto-1 in case the Police needed them. For the most part, any calls were being routed through the Canterlot High office until they could set up a dedicated line.

Sunset narrowed her eyes as she put another red pin on the map. There were sightings all over town, but the more violent ones seemed to be clustered around specific areas. And the areas all had one thing in common according to Rarity's earlier research. Locations associated with the Cult of Eternal Night, such as Ponyville Elementary and the Canterlot Library. While there were a few stray red pins indicating violent encounters outside the clusters, most of them were gathered within at least two blocks of these locations. Green pins indicated benign encounters like a ghostly performer joining a band for a show, and blue pins indicated instances of intentional interaction between humans and ghosts. A couple yellow pins were up, representing something like the Ice Cream Truck. Malicious, yet not directly dangerous.

"Well... looks like we should plan a trip out to the Canterlot Library," Rarity said as she looked at the map. "And maybe at the same time we can learn more about this Cult of Eternal Night."

"Yea... I agree," Sunset said. "Its getting worse with every day. We need more information."

All activity stopped when the girls were exposed to the theme to _Bill Nye the Science Guy_ coming from... Twilight's bag? Twilight had a panicked look on her face as she dug into her bag and pulled out her cellphone.

"You have _Bill Nye the Science Guy_ as your ringtone?" Sunset asked as Rainbow Dash was rolling on the floor with laughter.

"It was one of my favorite shows..." Twilight defended herself before answering the phone.

"I fear the day Princess Twilight is exposed to that show..." Sunset trailed off.

Fluttershy helped Rainbow Dash recover as Twilight spoke with whoever was on the other end of the phone call. Everyone tensed up when Twilight suddenly grabbed a notepad and pen and started scribbling down notes.

"You sure?" Twilight asked. "I'm glad to hear Lemon Zest's alright, but... ok ok... Uh huh... a full manifestation? For _how long?_ And Principal Cinch... we'll be there as soon as possible."

Twilight put the phone down and made her way to the map. She then took a big red pin and stuck it right in the middle of one of the red clusters.

"We got a call," she said before heading for her locker. The other girls and even Slimer looked at the map and the new pin.

Crystal Prep Academy.

Sunset asked what happened, and Twilight explained that Lemon Zest had been attacked. Physically picked up and thrown into a wall... then blasted with slime from her locker. Indigo Zap said all hell's breaking loose _right now_ according to the information Twilight had. That was enough for the other girls to get their gear. Even Slimer seemed to understand this was a priority call, and grabbed a combat helmet. Looked like the little Spud had decided to go with them this time.

As they were making their way to the Ecto-Van, Rainbow Dash broke off to go get one more thing, which turned out to be one of the Wondercolt flags they usually use during major sports events.

"What'cha doin' with that?" Applejack asked.

"Dude... we're going to Crystal Puke!" Rainbow Dash replied, using the nickname one of her health teachers used for Crystal Prep. "Perfect opportunity to plant a Canterlot flag on their roof! 'Canterlot wuz here!'"

"We're not pranking Crystal Prep," Sunset declared, pointing at the chromatic haired athlete. "We're going to _help_ them."

"Oh come on! Just this once?"

"No."

"PLEASE?"

"No."

"You're no fun."

As the group loaded up into the Ecto-Van, Rainbow Dash put the flag in the back with the gear. Just in case you know. Once everyone was in, including Slimer, the Ecto-Van sped out of the parking lot with lights and sirens blaring.

* * *

Dean Cadence and four of the Shadowbolts were out front when the Ecto-Van pulled up. The first thing Twilight did when she got out was run over and actually hug Cadence. Out of everyone at Crystal Prep, Dean Cadence had been really the only person who actually cared about Twilight. Apparently after calling Twilight, Indigo Zap had actually approached Cadence about the situation.

As the girls got their gear, Indigo Zap filled them in on the details before noticing the rolled up flag in the back. Rolling her eyes, Indigo Zap walked over to the only Wondercolt present who would have the guts to even consider pranking a rival school even in the middle of a crisis.

"According to Nurse Star," Cadence said as Pinkie Pie was pulling her Proton Pack on. "There's nothing physically wrong with Lemon Zest. She's just covered in some kind of slime, and has a bump on her head from where she hit the wall. The whole second floor's in chaos, and... Principal Cinch is being her stubborn self and not admitting there's a problem. She's still trying to maintain her reputation even after the _incident_ during the Friendship Games."

"Doesn't surprise me in the least..." Twilight deadpanned as she pulled out her Magic Detector. "PKE's spiking even out here. Something big's going on in there."

"Its that bad?" Fluttershy asked as Slimer came out of the van with his combat helmet. The Shadowbolts and Dean Cadence actually backed away before the kind, pink haired girl explained that Slimer was a friend. What they didn't notice was a shift in Twilight's posture. She had gone from nervous to serious. Sunset asked Cadence if there was anything she could do to make it easier for the girls to clear out the ghosts.

"I could have the building evacuated," Cadence replied. "The staff and students respect me enough that they'd be willing to listen to me over Principal Cinch. And in this situation, I should probably use that. Its getting to be too dangerous now."

"There's also the Security Office on the first floor," Sugarcoat spoke up. "From there you can tap into every security camera on campus."

"You have a Security Office?" Rarity asked.

"You don't?" Sunny Flare asked.

"Well... Canterlot High is a public school..." Rarity replied. "We don't have the money for full time security like Crystal Prep. We usually have an off duty police officer."

The group entered Crystal Prep and made their way to the main office. Slimer naturally drew attention because of being a glowing, green spud, but the girls themselves also drew attention since they weren't wearing school uniforms. As soon as they arrived, Dean Cadence made her way to the PA system and picked up the mic.

 _"Attention all staff and students. Due to a recent incident, everyone is to exit the building in an orderly manner. I repeat, all staff and students please exit the building in an orderly manner."_

The response was immediate. Staff and students started to walk out of classrooms and towards the exits. Dean Cadence just tapped her fingers against the desk as if she was waiting for something.

"5... 4... 3... 2... 1," she counted down before the phone on the desk rang. She picked it up, and instantly the girls could hear a rather irate voice on the other end. Taking it all in stride, Cadence just pushed a button and set the handset down, having switched it to speaker.

 _"I will not abide by this disruption Dean Cadence..."_ came the voice of Principal Cinch.

"One of our students was physically attacked, and you're willing to ignore it to..." Cadence started to say.

 _"Of course the safety of Crystal Prep's student body is important..."_

"But obviously not as important as your Reputation _Ego!_ "

Everyone looked at Twilight, surprised by the outburst before Twilight just tore into the disembodied voice of her former Principal.

"You are, frankly, a disgraceful school administrator Principal Cinch. All you care about is your precious reputation that you can't even see a student's suffering! Hell... you practically _blackmailed_ me into helping you win the Friendship Games! So you know what? Take your Reputation and SHOVE IT! We're going to do what we can to help the students here whether you like it or not! So get the hell out of our way or we will get support from the Police and Fire Departments to make sure everyone is alright before we blast every ghost in this school with _extreme prejudice!_ "

And with that, Twilight actually hung up on Principal Cinch. Even the Shadowbolts were shocked at Twilight's outburst. Twilight's friends, on the other hand, had a theory where that outburst had come from. A combination of Twilight's pent up frustration and Kylie venting said frustration. Twilight turned to look at the group.

"That felt good..." she said, sounding a little guilty.

"Twilight... that... was the most awesome thing I have ever seen," Indigo Zap actually said. "No one has ever stood up to Principal Cinch like that!"

"So... can I plant that flag on the roof now?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"You know what?" Sunset replied. " _Just_ to spite Principal Cinch... knock yourself out. _After_ we do a Sweep and Clear."

"Hell... I'll help," Indigo Zap said with a smile as Lemon Zest came into the office. It looked like she had every intention of staying to help, along with the rest of the Shadowbolts.

Once they knew everyone was out, Sunny Flare asked about the key to the Security Office. Cadence actually handed a key over, telling the Shadowbolts to be careful. She extended the same request to the Canterlot High students before joining the rest of the staff.

"Ok... We got a lot of ground to cover, and a lot of activity. Rarity. Take over the Security Office and tap into the camera network. You're our eyes and ears. Shadowbolts, you'll stay with Rarity. You know the school better than any of us, other than Twilight. We'll split up and cover more ground. Slimer, check the perimeter before joining Rarity. The Security Office will be our Command Post with fresh traps," Sunset said. "Heat 'em up girls. Its gonna be a busy day."

"I'll also see if I can find a floor plan of the school as well," Rarity said.

"I ain't afraid of no ghost!" Applejack said with a smirk.

"Bustin' makes me feel good!" Pinkie Pie chirped.

"Just be careful everyone," Fluttershy said meekly.

"Come on... we're awesome!" Rainbow Dash said confidently.

"Time to take back this school," Twilight said, priming her Proton Pack.


	9. Throw 'em if ya got 'em

Chapter 9

Throw 'em if ya got 'em

Rarity entered the Security Office of Crystal Prep, and could do nothing but gape in awe. It was pretty clear they spared no expense for this set up. Shaking her head, Rarity cleared off a nearby table and set her trap down on it before turning to the Shadowbolts.

"I need you girls to get into the Ecto-Van and grab every Ghsot Trap in there. They look like the box on the table," she said, pointing at the Trap. "I need to get set up, and... probably connect to the school's wi-fi."

"I'll stay and help you set up," Lemon Zest said as she moved over to the main console.

After a few minutes, the rest of the Shadowbolts came back with the Traps, and Sunny Flare actually had Rarity's laptop as well. She said that she figured Rarity might need it. With a nod, Rarity accepted the laptop before setting it down and opening it up. She also put on a modified stock X-Box headset as she looked over the camera views. A few minutes later, she had complete control, and even had a bit of music going quietly in the background.

"Ok... I'm in girls," Rarity said over the now open channel. "Command Center up and running... and Slimer is dancing."

 _"Good to know Rarity,"_ Sunset replied with a laugh. _"Give me the good news."_

"Well... give me a moment..." Rarity said as she cycled through different camera views. "Well... So far... first floor seems relatively untouched. I spy a couple spooks just milling around. Second floor... um... doesn't even look like part of the building anymore. Almost looks like crystals have taken over. Third floor is just about as bad."

Sour Sweet managed to find hard copies of the school floor plan and rolled it out on another table.

"Ok... we got a floor plan... wait..." Rarity trailed off as she saw something odd. "Are you girls seeing this?"

"Looks like a staircase," Indigo Zap said. "Going down. But not to the basement. I don't remember seeing that door."

"Something to check out after we deal with the immediate threat."

After a moment, Rarity returned to the console and found the girls. She said that she would do her best to guide them along the way.

* * *

After splitting up, Sunset and Twilight made their way down the hallway with Proton Packs ready. It was clear that Twilight had some strong memories of this place as she was walking a little slower and a little less attentive. After a moment, she shook her head and caught up with Sunset. It was then that she remembered something very important about the Proton Packs.

"Uh... Sunset? I think I should warn you..." Twilight trailed off.

"Warn me about what?" Sunset asked as she stopped and looked at the purple haired girl.

"Well... the Proton Packs... I completely forgot until now but... when in a group, don't cross the streams."

Raising an eyebrow, Sunset asked why not. Twilight explained that it was pretty bad, along the lines of exploding at the speed of light bad. For a moment Sunset was actually scared, as they had actually come close a couple times to crossing the streams on previous calls. But then Sunset facepalmed and groaned before spreading the word via radio. Naturally Rainbow Dash was rather vocal about not knowing she could potentially explode. Total Protonic Reversal aside, they still had a job to do.

Taking out her PKE Meter, Sunset started taking readings to try and determine how close they were.

* * *

Rainbow Dash leaned around the corner and spotted a ghost pacing back and forth in front of a classroom. With a smirk, she pulled back and gestured to Fluttershy that she saw one target down the hallway. Although still timid, Fluttershy had actually gotten pretty good with the Proton Pack. Out of all seven of them, Fluttershy was actually the most accurate. Mostly because she didn't want to damage anything on accident. Which with a Proton Pack was pretty much a guarantee. But somehow the pink haired girl had managed it. With help from Twilight, Fluttershy's Neutrona Wand actually had a modified set of sights for precision shots. While most of the time they shoot from the hip, Fluttershy was more likely to bring up the Neutrona Wand to aim than anyone else.

Taking a deep breath, Fluttershy stepped out into the hallway and brought the Neutrona Wand up. She was actually going to try the Boson Dart on this one. Sticking her tongue out the corner of her mouth, Fluttershy hit the trigger. A bolt of Boson Particles shot from the emitter and slammed into the ghost. Unfortunately it happened to be right next to the door, and caused some collateral damage. The ghost turned and actually threw a garbage can at the girl. With a shriek, Fluttershy dove for cover.

Rainbow Dash growled as the garbage can hit the floor hard. This was going to be a bit more interesting than the last call.

"Lets rock!" the athlete cried out as she revealed herself and unleashed a Proton Stream, catching the ghost square in the chest.

* * *

"Pinkie... ah can't take ya seriously while ya got them goggles on," Applejack drawled as she and Pinkie Pie were heading towards the cafeteria. Pinkie just looked at Applejack, her Ecto Goggles down over her eyes.

"You should try this Applejack!" the party girl exclaimed. "Its kinda trippy."

"Ah'm good," Applejack deadpanned.

After a couple minutes, the pair came across something that actually made Applejack freeze on the spot.

Down at the other end of the hallway was a giant spider.

"Oooo..." Pinkie said as she brought up her PKE Meter. "A Class 5 Corporeal Planar. At _least!_ "

"P... Pinkie... its a spi... a spee..." Applejack stuttered.

"An Ectoplasmic Arachnid!" Pinkie Pie chirped. "And... it almost looks like its guarding that door..."

The spider turned, and spotted the two girls. Applejack was totally frozen in fear. One thing she actually hid from her friends was that she was deathly arachnophobic. Any time she saw a spider, there would be an Applejack shaped dust cloud where she had been standing. But in this case there wasn't really anywhere for her to run to. Pinkie actually noticed and bit her lip before reaching for her radio.

"Pinkie Pie here," she said. "Did anyone know Applejack's got arachnophobia?"

 _"No? Why?"_ Sunset replied.

 _"I've got you girls on camera... oh... disgusting..."_

 _"Oh... what Rarity?"_

 _"Applejack is currently frozen in fear, and there's a giant spider in front of her and Pinkie..."_

 _"Twilight and I can be there soon..."_

"Ah... Ah got this..." Applejack spoke up.

 _"You sure?"_ Sunset asked.

"No. But ah gotta do this if ah'm gonna be of any help..."

 _"Alright... but if you need any help..."_

Applejack closed her eyes and nodded, thanking Sunset for the offer before tightening her grip on her Neutrona Wand. While she was scared out of her mind right now, she wasn't alone. And she knew Pinkie would have her back. As soon as she felt Pinkie's hand on her shoulder, Applejack smiled. Opening her eyes, she adjusted her grip and prepared for a fight. Pinkie smiled, pushing her Ecto Goggles up so she could see better, and also adopted a ready stance.

"Where's a lousy can of Raid when you need one?" Pinkie asked before unleashing a Boson Dart. The spider reared up after getting struck in the face and screeched. Applejack visibly shrank back, but a look of determination crossed her face and she snarled in response before cutting loose with a Proton Stream. The stream struck the spider dead center and actually pushed it back. Using its front legs to try and brace itself against the walls, the spider actually spit slime at the girls. Jumping out of the way, Pinkie unleashed another Boson Dart before venting her pack. Applejack took cover around a corner and tried to bring her breathing back under control.

Taking a deep breath, Applejack jumped back around the corner, and came face to face with the spider. With being so close, Applejack couldn't help herself and screamed before firing off a Boson Dart that actually shot into the spider's mouth. The entity actually recoiled and backpedaled before collapsing to the ground, stunned. Pinkie Pie unleashed a devastating Proton Stream, cracking its exoskeleton before running up and physically slamming her Ghost Trap into the wound and hitting the trigger. The spider actually compressed and got sucked into the trap. After a moment, Applejack just leaned against the wall and slid down until she was sitting on the floor.

"You gonna be alright Applejack?" Pinkie asked.

"Yea... jus' give me a minute," Applejack replied.

"I kinda wanna know what that thing was guarding..."

"Me too. Applejack to Base. We're gonna need a fresh trap. Bagged us a Class 5 Planar, and ah want that thang as far away from me as possible."

 _"Copy that. Indigo Zap's on the way with a fresh trap for Pinkie. You did good Applejack"_ Rarity replied.

* * *

After they cleared out the first floor, Applejack and Pinkie Pie took the second floor while Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy took the third. Sunset and Twilight, on the other hand, decided to find out what was on the other side of the door where Applejack and Pinkie fought the Ghost Spider. After checking back at the makeshift Command Center, they determined that it was the door to a basement that Indigo Zap wasn't familiar with. Putting a hand on the door knob, Sunset tried to open the door.

Locked.

"Maybe its just a storage closet?" Twilight suggested.

"Don't think so..." Sunset said as she brought up her PKE Meter. "Getting a spike. You know what? Screw it."

Putting her PKE Meter away, Sunset stepped back and drew her Neutrona Wand. Twilight was about to protest, knowing what was coming. But the moment she opened her mouth, Sunset had already blasted out the door knob with a quick Proton blast.

 _"Well... that's one door that won't threaten anyone ever again,"_ Rarity said over the radio.

"You got eyes down there?" Sunset asked.

 _"Sorry. No."_

"Well... guess we go in blind."

Holstering her Neutrona Wand, Sunset pushed the door open and stepped through as she pulled out her PKE Meter. The staircase reminded both her and Twilight of the one from Ponyville Elementary. Sure enough, after going down a ways, it opened up into a large chamber. Both Sunset and Twilight gasped in surprise.

It was a full blown ritual chamber, complete with decorations. Banners adorned the walls, depicting a stylized dark, armored equine figure with wings. Similar iconography adorned an altar, and a book rested on a pedestal. And right in the center of the chamber was a ritual circle. And the lines of the circle were glowing.

"Rarity... by any chance did you pack a video camera?" Sunset asked over the radio.

 _"Got one in the van... why?"_

"Bring it down here. We need to document this."

 _"What'cha find down there sugarcube?"_ Applejack asked.

"Another ritual chamber. And I think it was used recently."

While Twilight waited for the video camera, Sunset moved around towards the altar. She didn't want to risk disturbing whatever energy was in the circle just yet. As soon as she reached the book, she opened it up and started looking at page after page of text. It was all in Ancient Equestrian. But there were a few pictures and diagrams. She narrowed her eyes when she found an image she recognized.

The same image that depicted Nightmare Moon in the stories of the Mare in the Moon.

There was no denying it now. The Cult really was trying to bring Nightmare Moon into the human world.

"Here's the camera..." Sour Sweet trailed off when she noticed the glowing circle. "What the hell is that?"

"Thanks Sour Sweet," Twilight said, taking the video camera. "Better head back up. Might be dangerous down here."

After reassuring the Shadowbolt, Twilight started recording everything from every angle she could get. She jumped when Sunset slammed the book shut and just leaned against the pedestal. It was clear that whatever she saw in the book had affected her greatly. Although concerned, Twilight had to focus on documenting everything for study back at Canterlot High. While she didn't recognize any of the iconography, something about it just felt familiar. Twilight's reflection in the view finder screen shifted to represent Kylie. She too looked concerned.

 _"This is some serious stuff Twilight,"_ Kylie said.

"I know..." Twilight replied quietly, as she was the only one who could actually hear Kylie.

 _"I don't think you do."_

"Then enlighten me. What don't I know?"

 _"This is... its Gozer level bad. Back in '84, the Ghostbusters had to deal with basically a deity. Big, nasty entity that went by the name Gozer. It actually made the Ghostbusters choose its Destructor Form. Ray Stantz ended up thinking of the most harmless thing... and... they ended up fighting a giant version of the Stay Puft Marshmellow Man. Anyways... something tells me this Nightmare Moon Sunset told us about... is about on the same level. A God, for all intents and purposes. Well... Goddess."_

"I was afraid you'd say something like that..."

 _"And based on what we're seeing... she's got dedicated followers. And still active even now."_

Twilight's head snapped up when she heard the sound of the pedestal crashing to the floor. Sunset Shimmer had a dark look on her face as she held the book that used to be on it. The redhead walked over and shoved the book into Twilight's arms before drawing her Neutrona Wand and taking aim at the altar itself. Twilight blinked as she fumbled to hold both the camera and the book before asking what was going on. At first the only response she got was Sunset blasting apart the altar with a Boson Dart.

"They're trying to summon Nightmare Moon somehow," Sunset growled. "In a building full of innocent people. I'm sending this Cult a message."

"By destroying the altar?"

"Not just the altar."

Sunset turned her Neutrona Wand on the banners and proceeded to incinerate them. Luckily Twilight had already gotten what she needed before Sunset declared war. Just as the redhead turned towards the ritual circle, the energy in the circle flared up. Shielding their eyes, Sunset and Twilight actually backpedaled a bit as a portal opened in the circle. Apparently aggravated by the Proton and Boson discharges, the magic in the ritual circle brought forth a skeletal entity.

It was only about the size of an average Equestrian Pony. The horn on the skull indicated that it was a unicorn. The red glow in the eye sockets made it clear this was not something to play around with, at least to Sunset when she saw it. Twilight swallowed before putting both the camera and book down and drawing her Neutrona Wand. Before either girl could make a move, the skeletal unicorn lunged with intent to stab one of them with its horn. Twilight managed to roll out of the way while Sunset jumped to the side. The skeleton turned, and actually bucked Twilight hard enough to throw her across the room. Sunset tried blasting it with a Proton Stream, only for the skeleton to jump away and charge at her.

Twilight slammed into the wall and collapsed to the floor.

 _"Twilight? Get up!"_

She didn't move. Twilight Sparkle was dang near knocked out. Growling in her head, Kylie tried everything she could think of to get through to Twilight as the portal produced another skeletal Pony, this one with what appeared to be wing bones. As the skeletal pegasus charged at Twilight, Kylie screamed in her head before... making... Twilight... move?

Getting to her feet, Kylie took a quick moment to recover before having to dive out of the way of the pegasus again. She was in control of Twilight's body! The only downside was needing the glasses, and it was a miracle they hadn't fallen off yet. With a smirk, Kylie grabbed the Neutrona Wand. It was time to show these girls how its done.

Sunset actually had to use her Neutrona Wand to block the unicorn. It was a stalemate as long as she couldn't bring the emitter to bare. The soulless red glow that passed for eyes gave away nothing as the undead creature tried to push. The one advantage Sunset had though, was leverage. As a human she may not be as fast, but in a way she was a bit more flexible. Shifting her stance, Sunset twisted her Neutrona Wand and sidestepped. The unicorn ended up slamming into the wall behind her. Jumping back, Sunset unleashed a Proton Stream, striking the unicorn square in the ribcage. It didn't shatter as expected. It recoiled before the Capture Stream kicked in and grabbed it. Tossing her Trap out, Sunset triggered it and tried to pull the physical manifestation into its capture zone.

Something slammed into the unicorn. Something held in another capture stream. Sunset looked over, and saw Twilight was wrangling a skeletal pegasus. But the look on her face... something was different. Deciding not to argue, Sunset lifted the unicorn and slammed it into the pegasus before pulling it over towards her trap. The unicorn was sucked in pretty easily. The pegasus, on the other hand, seemed to be giving Twilight some trouble. Grabbing it with her own capture stream, Sunset tried working with Twilight to pull it into the trap, but the pegasus wasn't cooperating. Growling under her breath, Sunset actually kicked the trap closer.

"Buck you!" she shouted before slamming the pegasus _into_ the trap.

"We need to close the portal before any more come through!" Twilight called out.

"How?" Sunset asked.

"Normally... with a Slime Blower. But in this case... just destroy the circle!"

"Boson Darts on three."

With a nod, Twilight adjusted her grip and took aim.

"One."

Sunset took aim.

"Two."

"Three!"

Both girls unleashed a Boson Dart at the portal. The bolts slammed into the ground within a second of each other and tore up the concrete enough to destabilize the portal due to breaking lines. A followup Boson Dart from both of them finished the job, leaving behind nothing but a crater. With a satisfied smirk, Sunset collected the trap.

"Buy one, get one free," she wisecracked before turning her attention to Twilight. "You alright?"

"No... Twilight's pretty out of it," Twilight replied, causing Sunset to blink. "I... I had to do something."

"Why are you talking about yourself like... you're not Twilight..." Sunset trailed off. The purple haired girl looked over at Sunset with more confidence than the redhead ever saw in her. It was then that something clicked. With everything that's happened, Sunset had actually forgotten about _Kylie_.

"Well... not exactly how I pictured us meeting in person," Twilight said as she adjusted her glasses as if she wasn't used to them. "But still... nice to actually be able to talk to someone besides Twilight for a change. In case you haven't figured it out..."

"Nice to meet you... Kylie Griffin."


	10. We're about to get very busy

Chapter 10

We're about to get very busy...

"They destroyed our Ritual Chamber!"

"I can see that."

"This cannot be allowed to..."

"A setback only."

The hooded figure turned to face the leader of the Cult of Eternal Night.

"Setback? These _children_ not only disrupted our efforts, they destroyed a Ritual Chamber and took the Codex!" he protested.

" _A_ Codex," the leader replied. "Those who came before us had enough foresight to make two copies. I happen to possess the original."

"Still... these... upstarts must be taught a lesson!"

"And they will. Take some of our members to the Canterlot Library and begin the summoning. Even if you fail, more spirits will enter our world. They will distract these so called Ghostbusters. I will take the original Codex to City Hall."

The leader turned, revealing for a moment a more feminine figure under the robes.

"If the Ghostbusters should come to the Library... use the Codex. I am certain there is a spell that could be of use."

"As you will it. None can stop the coming of the Eternal Night."

* * *

Two days had passed since the battle at Crystal Prep. Once again, the girls were down in the Canterlot High Bomb Shelter/Ghostbusters HQ going over various things and generally getting ready for whatever call they'd get. But plans were in the works to check out one of the other possible sites connected to this mysterious Cult of Eternal Night, the Canterlot Library.

Twilight Sparkle was currently working on a new attachment for the Proton Packs, although every once in a while she did ask to see one of the girl's packs. According to Twilight, over the time they've been using the packs, certain trends among the girls have become evident. When the Boson Darts were added, Pinkie Pie was the most likely to use them. In turn, Twilight decided to try and install supplementary heat sinks to enable Pinkie to fire off more Boson Darts before needing to vent the pack.

Fluttershy was more inclined to try and aim, so not only did she get some more defined sights on her Neutrona Wand, Twilight was going to install some more focusing elements to try and keep the Proton Stream from wandering like with the other packs.

Applejack's roping skills inspired Twilight to try and reinforce the Capture Stream on her pack, which should enable the country girl to not only grab ghosts a lot sooner than the others, but may even be able to start physically tearing apart an Animator construct while the rest of the team has to use the Proton Streams. She also modified the Neutrona Wand's rear grip to be more like that of a lever action rifle like Applejack suggested, allowing for faster manual venting without readjusting your grip.

While Slimer was floating around, Sunset was looking over the book they had taken from Crystal Prep. While she couldn't read Ancient Equestrian, she could figure a few things out based on the diagrams and pictures. But every once in a while it was clear she was frustrated. Slimer would try to help by bringing over an ice cold soda bottle, which helped, and even trying to make sense of the book himself, which just made his eyes glaze over.

"So Fluttershy and I chased this ghost through the third floor into Principal Cinch's office," Rainbow Dash said as she sat in a chair drinking a Coke. "And the thing starts chucking crystal shards at us! So naturally I'm like 'screw this' and open up on it."

"We did catch it, but Rainbow..." Fluttershy trailed off.

"I may have been a _little_ overzealous and... destroyed Cinch's desk. And chair. And... oversized portrait..."

"So... how did the prank go Rainbow Dash?" Rarity asked as she was messing with her PKE Meter.

"Without a hitch. After everything went back to normal, Indigo Zap actually helped me get to the roof and we planted the flag right up front for all to see. She said she'd shoot me a pic of Cinch's reaction as soon as things calm down over there. Still kinda crazy with the cleanup," Rainbow Dash explained.

Sunset wasn't even listening to the conversation as she flipped through page after page of the book. She knew that this was over her head, but she just wouldn't admit it. She didn't _want_ to admit it. This was something from Equestria, and she knew _nothing_. Finally, she gave up. Closing the book, Sunset dropped her head down onto the table and sighed.

"I give up," she said. "I can't figure this out."

"Ya have been at it ever since we brought that thang back," Applejack pointed out. "Ah'm pretty sure we all understand."

"Do you?" Sunset asked. "This is something from _my_ world. I _should_ know something that can help us. Yet... I got nothing! I let you girls down."

"Not true."

Sunset looked over at Twilight, who was holding some sort of component that looked like it connected to the Neutrona Wand's emitter.

"No one expects you to know everything Sunset," the purple haired girl said. "Just shows you're human."

"Except I'm _not_ human," Sunset said. "But... I think I understand what you mean. Nobody's perfect."

Taking a deep breath, Sunset got up and headed for the stairs. She needed some fresh air. As she made her way out to the front of the school, many students actually greeted her. After the Battle of the Bands, Sunset had proven to everyone that she had changed. They finally accepted her. But there was still that little bit of doubt in the back of her mind. They knew who she was. What she was capable of. Even after the events of the Friendship Games, Sunset wasn't sure exactly what people truly thought of her.

It was a small fear honestly. She knew they accepted her as one of their own. But she couldn't help but worry if that darkness within her reared its ugly, flaming head again.

An hour later the girls found Sunset just sitting on the ground, leaning against the statue. Slimer hung back, slurping on his soda, as this was something for the girls to handle. One thing did come to mind for the Spud. Kylie had taken control of Twilight's body, but only when circumstances allowed it. Sure Slimer was lousy with actual language skills, but he was smarter than he appeared. From what he overheard, Twilight was essentially knocked unconscious, but due to Kylie also being in her head, wasn't totally immobilized by the impact. Kylie was able to step in and take control because Twilight was unavailable. And, it was possible that the fact Kylie was _still aware_ of what was going on immediately after the impact was because Kylie herself had _already_ assumed control when Twilight blacked out. It just took time for Kylie to realize it.

"Hey Sunset," Rainbow Dash greeted the redhead. Sunset turned to face the chromatic haired athlete and smiled.

"I just needed some fresh air," Sunset replied.

"Well... we just came up with a theory," Rainbow Dash said as she leaned against the statue. "You tore up that basement pretty good. That's bound to make these Cultists mad."

Sunset thought for a moment before cringing. Dash was right. By obliterating the Ritual Chamber, Sunset had hoped to send a message, that the Cult couldn't continue without opposition. In so doing, Sunset may have painted a target on the backs of herself and her friends. The Cult would want revenge. All because Sunset didn't think about the consequences of her actions at the time.

"Anyways... Sci-Twi thinks that with the Cult down one basement, they're going to start worrying," Rainbow Dash explained.

"We've already located one abandoned Ritual Chamber," Rarity added. "And you and Twilight destroyed another. That leaves at least two possible Chambers remaining in town. We've cut their capability down by a third at least as long as the Ponyville Elementary Chamber remains abandoned."

Sunset thought for a moment. They were both right. Due to the actions of the Ghostbusters, the Cult's ability to summon Nightmare Moon was diminished. And they needed to make sure the Ponyville Elementary Chamber remained out of commission. But something else came to mind. If the Cult was now worried, that would mean they would do everything in their power to succeed before they were stopped. And that could mean...

"We got problems," Sunset finally said.

"What do you mean?" Fluttershy asked.

"Dash and Rarity are both right. We've taken a chunk out of the Cult's capabilities. But that just means they're gonna get more desperate. They're going to try again. And they're going to keep trying until they succeed. Which means..."

" _More_ Ghosts in Canterlot," Applejack drawled.

"That's not good..." Fluttershy said meekly.

"No. Its not," Sunset confirmed.

"More Ghosts mean..." Pinkie Pie said. "We're about to get a _lot_ busier. I'll go get the energy drinks!"

Sunset sighed and stood up before turning to face the group.

"Applejack, you and Rainbow Dash go back to Ponyville Elementary. Make _sure_ that Chamber can't be used again. Twilight, keep working on that attachment for the Proton Packs. I've got a feeling we might need a new trick up our sleeve. Everyone else... lets... keep hitting the books. There's got to be something we missed."

With that, the girls dispersed. The only ones left were Sunset and Slimer. With a sigh, Sunet leaned against the statue again and looked up into the sky.

"I'm scared Slimer," Sunset admitted. "If the Cult succeeds... one of the most powerful beings in Equestria will be unleashed on an unsuspecting world."

Slimer flew down to be next to the girl, still slurping on his soda, and put a hand on Sunset's shoulder to reassure her.

"It took the six Elements of Harmony to end the threat of Nightmare Moon last time. We don't have that here," Sunset sighed. "At best... we've got a mere _shadow_ of the Elements with the magic my friends have. Nowhere near as powerful. If they succeed... I don't know how we can stop her."

Slimer put his drink down and flew in front of Sunset. He then put a combat helmet on and made like he was holding a rifle as if to say "we carry on no matter the odds". Getting the message, Sunset couldn't help but smile.

"Yea... I guess so," she said. "Celestia... I hope you're right Slimer. Its just... Nightmare Moon was basically the boogyman in Equestria for a long time. While she wasn't Discord, Nightmare Moon could have caused devastation across the world if not for Princess Celestia banishing her to the Moon for a thousand years, and then Twilight... the Twilight from Equestria, and her friends using _all six_ Elements to free Princess Luna from her darkness."

Sunset closed her eyes and brought a hand to her chest.

"I'm only one mare," she said. "One mare and six humans versus a veritable Goddess from my world. And we don't even _have_ the Elements here."

When Sunset opened her eyes again, she couldn't help but laugh. Slimer now had a hat on that looked like Link's from _Legend of Zelda_ , and was swooping around humming the overworld theme. He was trying to tell her to have courage. He then shifted to look like he was wearing glasses.

"Sunset find a way," he said, mimicking Dr. Malcolm from _Jurassic Park._

"Thanks Slimer," Sunset said with a smile. "You're right. And... you're a good friend. For a... slimy undead spud."

Slimer laughed and nodded, indicating that he liked her too. With a smile, both girl and ghost went back into Canterlot High. There was work to be done, and food to eat.


	11. Darkness Within

Chapter 11

Darkness Within

Twilight wasn't able to finish her new attachment. A little less than a week due to complications, and her pack was the only one that had everything set up other than the emitter attachment when a call came in. Canterlot Library was being overrun by Ghosts. Innocent people were being attacked, and it was general chaos. As the girls suited up, Twilight grabbed the last component of the new attachment and pocketed it. Might come in handy. One detail she added into the Proton Packs was a modular design. New attachments were pretty much plug and play once the initial modifications were complete.

She understood that they would have had to deal with the Library, but they were hoping to be able to go in a bit more prepared.

As they pulled into the parking lot of the Library, Sunset again checked her own pack. Everyone was pretty nervous about this one. Even Pinkie Pie wasn't bouncing in anticipation as much as usual. Rarity pulled out her PKE Meter and got a big hit, and they weren't even inside yet!

"Heat 'em up girls," Sunset said after taking a deep breath. Seven activated Proton Packs later, they entered the Library and met with the head Librarian. After getting the full story, and getting the all clear to proceed, the girls split up. The plan was to divide and conquer. Cover more ground, catch anything ghostly that got in their way, and locate the hidden Ritual Chamber.

As the first Proton Streams started to fly, the girls didn't notice that their arrival hadn't gone unnoticed. A Cultist narrowed his eyes before retreating to report in.

* * *

Rarity was following her PKE Meter, with Rainbow Dash in tow. Her plan was to go to the archive section and look up an original floor plan of the Library. A few times they encountered small entities that just dispersed when struck with a Proton Stream, but nothing major yet.

"You know Rarity," Rainbow Dash said. "I'm surprised you're even doing this at all. Not exactly a clean job."

"If there is anything I can do to help I'll do it," Rarity replied. "Besides... we already know these jumpsuits are slime resistant."

"Yea... but your hair isn't."

"I've accepted that there are certain risks in this profession. Although I do hope not to make a career out of this after we graduate High School."

Another set of Swarmers shot out of a shelf, and Rarity zapped them with her Proton Pack. While there were a lot of them, they weren't that smart. Didn't take long for the fashionable member of the team to figure out they would follow each other like lemmings, and put a Proton Stream in their path.

"Nice shootin' Tex," Rainbow Dash wisecracked before dealing with another group of Swarmers. "Is it just me, or are we running into a larger variety of baddies as we go?"

"According to _Tobin's Spirit Guide_ , I'd have to agree," Rarity said. "Swarmers, Animators, actual Ghosts... Things certainly are escalating."

"How often do you read that thing?"

"Digital copy on my Tablet. Know your enemy and all that Darling."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes as she blasted apart an animated light fixture that had taken offense to their existence. With everything that had happened, the resident athlete was again thankful to have her friends by her side. When they were together, there really wasn't anything they couldn't do. With a nod to Rarity, the pair continued on their way.

* * *

"LOOK OUT!"

Applejack dove for cover as the Animator created bookcase golem slammed the ground where she had just been standing. Fluttershy was sniping from a distance with the Proton Stream with short controlled bursts in an effort to get its attention, while Twilight Sparkle was doing her best to try and restrain it with a Capture Stream.

"Twi! Let me handle the wranglin'!" Applejack called out as she again rolled out of the way. "Fluttershy! This ain't no time t' be gentle! Let 'er rip!"

The pink haired girl nodded and unleashed a sustained Proton Stream into the golem's torso. Twilight soon joined the assault as soon as she had an opening. One thing they learned from studying _Tobin's Spirit Guide_ was that most golems had some kind of node that, when removed, would render the construct inert and generally cause it to collapse. Applejack was honestly amazed at how detailed that book was. While the two girls were tearing into the torso, Applejack climbed up on top of a table and aimed at the golem's head. Switching on the Capture Stream, Applejack roped her target and started to pull straight up. With the extra energy going into her Capture Stream, it certainly made things like this easier. While the head was resisting, she could feel it start to give. With a pulse of extra energy, Applejack slammed the head up into the ceiling.

"An' that's why ya shoulda quit while you were a... head," the country girl wisecracked as she watched the golem collapse into its component parts.

"That was a pretty strong one..." Fluttershy noted as she walked over.

"There has to be a Ritual Chamber here," Twilight said.

"Well... one down... more to go," Applejack said as she pushed her hat up a bit.

"I wonder if we can get paid for this..." Twilight trailed off.

As Twilight checked her PKE Meter, Applejack vented her pack to prepare for the next round. This was proving to be more of a challenge than Crystal Prep. Sunset was right. The Cult was ramping things up. And she wanted to shut them down before anyone else was hurt.

* * *

"Watch the sides!" Sunset called out as she and Pinkie Pie came under attack from two very angry Ghost Librarians.

"WEEEEEE! Can't catch me!" Pinkie exclaimed as she bounced around, frustrating the ghosts as they tried to hit her. Sunset threw her trap into the center of the area before unleashing a Proton Stream at the closest one. After a moment to sap its energy, the Capture Stream kicked in and Sunset was fighting to pull the spirit into range of her Trap. Pinkie fired off a couple Boson Darts before performing a wall kick move and unleashing a Proton Stream herself.

While Pinkie kept the one spirit busy, Sunset growled as she fought with her own target. Even slamming it into the floor a couple times didn't seem to phase it as much as she would have liked. After she heard Pinkie dispose of her ghost, a second Capture Stream latched on and together the two girls pulled it into the trap.

"Hey you guys were pretty good!" Pinkie chirped as she picked up the trap. "NOT!"

Sunset couldn't help but smile. It was times like this that made Sunset Shimmer feel like they were actually making a difference. Every little victory felt like one step closer to the endgame. But the question was... what was it? Was it stopping the Cult of Eternal Night, or a showdown with Nightmare Moon herself?

They had to find the Ritual Chamber and shut it down, and fast. Sunset had a feeling that even if the Cultists failed in their summoning, they would use the unleashed spirits to wreak havoc all over Canterlot in an effort to overwhelm them. The fewer Chambers in action, the better. They just needed to find them first.

 _"Rarity here. I think I got something."_

"What'cha got?" Sunset asked into her radio.

 _"Sending it to your phones now. I think I found the Ritual Chamber in the floor plans. Back wall, east wing."_

 _"That's where we are,"_ Applejack spoke up. _"We'll look around an' hold until y'all get here."_

"Good idea. This time we're hitting it together in case the Cultists have any tricks."

After getting affirmative responses from everyone, Sunset quickly checked her phone before determining that she and Pinkie were in the west wing of the Library. With a sigh, Sunset started for the door.

* * *

Twilight poked at her PKE Meter as she waited for everyone to arrive. They managed to find a door hidden behind another bookshelf, and had moved it out of the way. What bothered her though was she thought she could hear chanting coming from the door. If that was true, then they were actually going to disrupt a summoning ritual in progress. She had no idea what they were going to do about the Cultists themselves. Ghosts they could handle, but human beings? Sunset and Pinkie were the last to arrive, having been on the opposite side of the Library, and the group checked over their gear one last time. Twilight actually brushed a hand against her pocket before taking a deep breath.

"Here goes nothin'," Applejack said as she opened the door. Now they could hear chanting clearly.

"Crap... that's gonna be a problem," Rainbow Dash said. "What do we do?"

"Usual plan," Sunset said. "Make it up as we go."

With a nod and a group fist bump, the girls entered the stairway and went down into the Library Ritual Chamber. Unlike at Crystal Prep, this one was deeper and larger. Sunset took cover as soon as she saw the robed figures surrounding an active Circle. They seemed oblivious to the presence of the Ghostbusters. The redhead cringed as she watched a spirit emerge and just fly up into the ceiling. One more Ghost to track down later...

"Ah... the pests have arrived."

The girls looked at each other before coming out of hiding with Proton Packs ready. While the Cultists around the Circle ignored them, one Cultist holding a book walked around the chanters and confronted them. While Sunset couldn't make anything out due to the robes, the voice was clearly male.

"You cannot stop the Eternal Night," the Cultist said.

"Well... y'all might wanna clear out, 'cuz we got yer eviction notices right here," Applejack countered, lifting her Neutrona Wand for emphasis.

"Charming... you children think you're heroes," the Cultist scoffed as he opened the book. "Lets see how brave you are... fighting the darkness in your souls!"

With a hand extended towards the Ritual Circle, the Cultist started calling out a spell. Magic energy actually started to form in his outstretched hand before he thrust it out towards the Ghostbusters. As the girls dove for cover, Sunset and Twilight seemed to seize up. Rainbow Dash turned and gasped at the sight of two of her friends being pulled up into the air against their will.

Her body felt like it was on fire. Back in Equestria Sunset could have cast a counterspell, but here in the Human World there was no such thing. She still wasn't even sure _how_ these Cultists were able to wield magic themselves. Next to her, Twilight was convulsing in the air as if something was being ripped out of her. The pain finally reached a point that Sunset couldn't help but cry out... and the next thing she knew she was flat on her face at the far end of the Chamber with Rarity checking to make sure she was alright. Twilight was being helped up by Fluttershy.

Pushing herself up to her knees, Sunset shook her head before she heard something that made her stop in her tracks.

"Feels good to be free again," someone said in Sunset's own voice.

"I would have to agree with you," another voice said, sounding like Twilight. "Being suppressed like that..."

"Oh you have got to be KIDDING ME!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed in shock.

Sunset got to her feet, turned around, and the blood drained from her face. Floating in the air in front of the Cultist, was... Sunset Shimmer. But it was the demon form she had taken on after wearing the Element of Magic. Next to her was none other than Midnight Sparkle. Taking a quick glance to her side to confirm Twilight was still here, Sunset actually took a step back. This must have been what the Cultist meant by the darkness in their souls. He wanted to try and force the girls to fight each other. But instead, the spell locked onto the two who had the most exposure to magic and had actually been corrupted by it.

"Throw 'em!" Applejack called out before unleashing a Proton Stream at Demon Sunset. The others soon followed suit, aiming for either Demon Sunset or Midnight Sparkle. The second the shooting started, the Cultists actually got smart and ran. The two dark manifestations, however, held their ground and actually countered the Proton Streams.

"Interesting," Midnight Sparkle said. "Proton Accelerators. Designed to sap negative energy. I'm impressed."

"At least they're putting up an actual _fight_ this time," Demon Sunset growled as she shot a fireball at the group. Sunset took cover, but was shaken by all this. Her past had come back to haunt her! She had been afraid of what might happen if her dark side returned. Now... it was actively trying to kill her and her friends.

Her friends.

The very people who helped turn her life around. Without them, there's no telling what would have happened to her.

Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes for a moment, Sunset Shimmer stood up.

"Oh... finally joining the fight Sunset?" Demon Sunset taunted. "I thought you were afraid I'd come back."

"I was," Sunset admitted before opening her eyes. The redhead had a look of pure determination. "I was afraid of my past. Afraid of _you_. No more."

"Oh how cute. You're going to fight me without magic?"

"I don't need magic to beat _you_."

Gritting her teeth, Sunset unleashed a Proton Stream at her dark half. Caught off guard by the sudden attack, Demon Sunset was sent on the defensive.

Rarity tried blasting Midnight Sparkle while Fluttershy deployed a trap, only for both girls to get slammed into each other with magic.

"A Muon Containment Device?" Midnight Sparkle said as she examined the trap. "Interesting. A scientific countermeasure to a magical threat. I'll enjoy studying the outcome of this."

With a wave of her hand, Midnight Sparkle sent the trap flying back towards the girls before unleashing a wave of dark energy. Rarity and Fluttershy scrambled out of the way, unsure what to do now.

Twilight Sparkle just found a corner to hide in and covered her head with her arms. Ever since the Friendship Games, she had nightmares of losing control and turning into Midnight Sparkle again. Now her nightmare was real. She was powerless to fight against the corrupted being now terrorizing her friends. She could hear them desperately trying to fight. But without magic...

 _"Twilight! Get up!"_

"I can't Kylie."

 _"Yes you can!"_

"I can't fight her! She's too strong!"

 _"You can fight her Twilight! Your friends need you!"_

"I'm scared!"

 _"I know. But you are a Ghostbuster. This is what we do. When things go bump in the night, we bump back. You're stronger than her. Get your butt up and_ prove _it to her!"_

Twilight shifted, and felt a weight in her pocket. Reaching in, she pulled out the emitter attachment for her Proton Pack. It was then that Twilight realized something. It wasn't strength of power that mattered. It was adaptability. Midnight Sparkle was rigid, only interested in gaining knowledge at any cost. But there was a difference between knowledge and _wisdom_. And Midnight Sparkle didn't have wisdom.

She knew what she had to do now. Face her fear. Twilight took the attachment and clamped it around the Neutrona Wand's emitter before cocking it back and establishing a connection. Pressing a couple buttons on the attachment activated the dormant parts of her Proton Pack, extending small arms from the top and sides that started to glow blue. The Exotic Particle "Dark Matter" Generator was active. Time for a trial by fire.

The Exotic Particle Generator modified the existing Proton Pack's firing cycle, changing the primary firing mode from a stream into essentially a shotgun blast. The secondary mode replaced the Capture Stream with a stream of exotic particles that should interact with an entity's ectoplasm in such a way as to essentially emulate subzero temperatures to inhibit movement or even immobilize entirely. And the best part was, it wasn't a total trade off. You could switch between the Dark Matter and normal operation. With a nod, Twilight came out of her corner.

"Leave my friends alone!" she yelled, attracting Midnight Sparkle's attention. The corrupted entity ceased her attacks on Rarity and Fluttershy and floated towards Twilight.

"You have no friends," Midnight taunted. "Without me, you're nothing but a weak, isolated girl."

"Not anymore," Twilight said defiantly.

"Kylie can't help you this time Twilight. I will remove all obstacles that stand between me and the knowledge I crave. Even you."

Midnight Sparkle brought her hand up, and unleashed a bolt of dark energy. Jumping to the side with all the grace of a brick, Twilight retaliated with a Shock Blast. Caught off guard by the difference in weaponry, Midnight Sparkle recoiled and tried to assess the threat level of this unknown variable. Taking advantage of the situation, Twilight fired the secondary mode. A stream of blue energy with a black core lanced out and struck the corrupted entity. The effect was immediate, as what actually looked like ice started to form on Midnight Sparkle's body. The shocked entity just looked at Twilight and cried out in rage at this unexpected variable.

"What... is... this?" she demanded.

"Simply an Exotic Particle Generator attachment I developed for the Proton Packs," Twilight said with confidence as she kept up the pressure. "Basically... while you were created from my darker tendencies, you are not me now. You're made of Ectoplasm. And my theory was just proven correct. Dark Matter can affect Ectoplasmic entities like yourself."

Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie came over and started blasting Midnight Sparkle with Proton Streams, and soon had a hold of her. Twilight tossed out a trap before switching modes and adding her own Capture Stream.

"You... you can't destroy me!" Midnight Sparkle protested. "I am a part of you!"

"Yes," Twilight replied as she pulled Midnight closer. "I acknowledge you exist. I'll have to live with you for the rest of my life. But you will _never_ control me."

With that, the four girls working together pulled Midnight Sparkle into range of the Ghost Trap and triggered it. While Midnight Sparkle did fight, Twilight couldn't help but notice there was actually a hint of a smile on the corrupted entity's face as she was pulled in. Not a devious smile. An honest one.

Twilight Sparkle grew a backbone and faced her fears. The very thing that helped spawn Midnight Sparkle in the first place.

Demon Sunset was proving to be just as much of a handful as the first time around. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were doing what they could to limit the entity's movements, but she was too fast. Sunset growled as she again tried to get a bead on her dark half. Just as Demon Sunset was about to launch an attack, she was struck by a Boson Dart from off to the side. Turning to glare at the offending source of the attack, Demon Sunset blinked in surprise. The other girls had overpowered Midnight Sparkle and were joining the fight.

"What's the matter?" Sunset taunted. "Can't take us all on at once?"

"Psh," Demon Sunset scoffed. "Without Twilight's magic to Orbital Friendship Cannon my tail, you can't stop me."

"And like _I_ said," Sunset responded. "I _don't need_ magic to stop you!"

"Face it Sunny! I _am_ you! I am what makes you who you are! Without me you're _nothing!_ "

"Yea... you are a part of me. But you're a part I don't need anymore!"

Six Proton Streams lanced out and struck Demon Sunset before grabbing her limbs and wings. For some reason, Pinkie Pie was chanting what sounded like "Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao". Sunset tossed her trap and stood there with a defiant look on her face as she leveled her Neutrona Wand at her past.

"Take a good look Sunset," Sunset said. "I'm _stronger_ than you _because_ of my friends. Something you will _never_ understand. When we're together, anything is possible!"

"Even if you trap me in that box," Demon Sunset snarled. "You will never be rid of me!"

"At least I'll sleep better knowing you're in the box."

With that, Sunset triggered her own Proton Stream and pulled Demon Sunset in. Then, just to add insult to injury, Sunset Shimmer slam dunked her dark half into the trap.

"You mo... what?" Rainbow Dash asked as she looked at the party girl.

"Its a Chi Spell!" Pinkie Pie chirped. "Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao! It means 'Spirits, demons, ghosts, monsters, quickly leave.'"

"Ah ain't gonna even bother tryin' t' figure you out Pinkie," Applejack drawled after taking a deep breath. Everyone couldn't help but laugh.

Sunset smiled as she picked up the trap that contained Demon Sunset. It felt good to put _that_ fear to rest. She actually felt like she could truly move on now. Looking over at Twilight, Sunset had a feeling she too could move on.

"Alright girls," Sunset finally said. "Lets wreck this chamber and go home. Milkshakes on me."

"YEA! MILKSHAKES!" Pinkie exclaimed before getting to work.

"You're going to regret that Sunset," Rainbow Dash said as she hiked a thumb at Pinkie Pie.

"Yea... I'm already starting to," Sunset laughed.


	12. Nightfall

Chapter 12

Nightfall

She approached the Ritual Circle and looked out at the assembled members of the Cult of Eternal Night. Again, the so called Ghostbusters had disrupted their efforts. But now... the time had come to finish what the founders of the Cult began over a hundred years ago.

"Brothers and Sisters! While we have had many setbacks, we now stand upon the threshold! Destiny has smiled upon us! With what we have learned these last few days... I am confident that we shall summon the Goddess today! Today... the sun shines its last! The Eternal Night shall fall!"

The gathered Cultists cheered once. The leader held up a stone orb.

"With this artifact, the original Codex of Night, and the entirety of our Order... we shall prevail!"

With that, she placed the orb into the center of the Circle.

"Come! Let us welcome our Mistress to her new kingdom..."

* * *

Sunset Shimmer gave one last look at the trap that held Demon Sunset before inserting it into the Containment Unit and flushing her inside. Extracting the empty trap, the redhead stretched before putting the trap away and plopping down in a nearby chair.

The girls didn't go straight back to Canterlot High after the library. They had gotten milkshakes before going to Sweet Apple Acres to rest for a couple hours. There was just something about an apple farm that was relaxing. But Sunset knew that time was running out. They had to find that last Ritual Chamber and put an end to the threat of Nightmare Moon once and for all. But after the Library, they needed a break in the action.

Slimer looked up the stairs in confusion. Fluttershy noticed his expression and asked what was going on. The only response she got was Slimer pointing up the stairs. With a sigh, Fluttershy went up the stairs and opened the door. To her surprise, she found staff and students rushing outside.

"What's going on?" she managed to ask one of them.

"Don't know. Some kind of freaky light show!"

Alerting the other girls, Fluttershy ran out with them, still in her Ghostbusters jumpsuit. It wasn't long before all seven of them and Slimer were outside and gasping in shock.

There was a beam of energy lancing up into the sky from downtown Canterlot. Some sort of cloud formation was circling the beam, almost looking like some kind of localized storm. Both staff and students just watched in shock and confusion at what looked like something from a sci-fi movie. But for Sunset Shimmer and her friends, they had a bad feeling as to what it really was. The Cult of Eternal Darkness was performing a _very_ powerful Summoning.

Suddenly, energy fell upon the Statue, destroying the repairs that were still being made since the Friendship Games, and engulfing the base that contained the portal. Sunset recoiled, bringing a hand up to shield her eyes.

* * *

 **Equestria**

"I'm glad you could make it out to Ponyville Princess Luna," Twilight said with a bow.

"I should thank you for the invite to come and visit," Princess Luna replied. "I do not get the chance to get out of Canterlot very often these days."

As the two Alicorn Princesses walked down the hallway, the mirror that acted as a portal to the human world started to surge with power. Sensing the magical disturbance, both ponies ran to the chamber that housed the mirror and looked at the object in question. Arcs of purple energy were snaking around the mirror as if something was overloading it.

"Has this happened before Twilight?" Princess Luna asked.

"No... I've... never seen this kind of behavior before..." Twilight replied.

The energy suddenly erupted, opening the portal and unleashing a beam of energy. With reflexes honed from years of guardianship, despite the thousand years she spent on the moon in the interim, Princess Luna pushed Twilight out of the way and cast a shield spell to counter the blast. Twilight pushed herself back onto her hooves and looked on in shock as the Princess of the Night struggled to hold back the beam from the portal. Whatever was causing it was very powerful, able to match an Alicorn easily.

Or... actually overpower one. Princess Luna's shield failed and she was struck with the full force of the beam, slamming her into the opposite wall in the hallway and holding her there. Twilight tried to cast a shield spell, but her magic was nowhere near as powerful as Luna's and was instantly shattered every time she tried. But one thing she was able to determine was that there was something buried within the beam's energy. Something... familiar, yet at the same time not.

A dark shadow seemed to be extracted from Princess Luna and traveled along the beam back through the portal. Shortly after that, the assault ceased, and the portal once again looked like it had just the other day.

Rushing over to check on Princess Luna, Twilight called out for Spike.

"Are you alright?" Twilight asked.

"I... I believe so," Princess Luna replied. "I... have never felt such power before..."

"Twilight! What... Princess Luna?" Spike said the little dragon ran around the corner.

"Spike! Send a letter to Princess Celestia right away!" Twilight said as she looked back at the mirror.

"And... what do you want me to say?" Spike asked as he noticed Princess Luna's condition.

"She needs to come to Ponyville right away."

After one final check of Princess Luna, Twilight ran back into the mirror chamber and grabbed the journal that she used to power the portal.

"Where are you going?" Spike asked as he came in.

"Whatever that... attack was... it came through the portal. I have to know what's going on," Twilight said as she magically lifted the journal and placed it in the device. With the flip of a switch, the portal was open. Before Spike could say anything else, the Princess of Friendship was already through.

"I hate it when I feel like I'm missing something..." Spike sighed. "Now where did I leave that paper..."

* * *

 **Human World**

"Well... ah swear that statue never catches a break..." Applejack deadpanned after the energy dissipated. The beam going up into the sky over downtown Canterlot, however, was still present.

Sunset narrowed her eyes as she looked out over the city. Her hands clenched into fists before turning to face her fellow Wondercolts, both normal students and Ghostbusters alike. But before she could say anything, a familiar figure came flying out of the portal. Tumbling to a stop in front of Flash Sentry, was Princess Twilight Sparkle. Helping his crush up to her feet, Flash gave the inter-dimensional traveler a warm smile.

"Uh... Hi Flash... kinda... don't have time right now," Princess Twilight said before finding Sunset. The redhead looked over at her as soon as she felt her hand on her shoulder.

"Twilight..." Sunset started to say.

"What's going on?" the princess asked. "Why... is there an energy beam that looks a lot like what struck Princess Luna coming from the city?"

"Wait, WHAT?!"

Sunset grabbed Princess Twilight by the shoulders and asked what she meant by Princess Luna being struck. The princess explained that she had invited Luna over to her castle for a visit since Luna hardly ever got out of Canterlot, then was apparently struck by some kind of beam from the portal, which doesn't make since since it was supposed to be closed at the time...

Groaning, Sunset let go of Princess Twilight and facepalmed.

"Its starting..." she said.

"What?" Princess Twilight asked.

"The Cult of Eternal Night's endgame," Sci-Twi replied.

Sunset took a deep breath before turning to her friends.

"Girls... get your gear," she said. "Applejack, bring the Ecto-Van out front. Pinkie... Code Red."

Pinkie Pie gasped in total shock, her eyes shrinking in the process before jumping up into the air.

"CODE RED!" she yelled before bolting back into the school. "CODE RED! CODE RED!"

The other girls, sans Applejack, followed, but Sunset was stopped by Princess Twilight. Sunset explained that they had found out more about what was going on. A Cult was actively trying to summon Nightmare Moon to Earth. In total shock at the news, Princess Twilight immediately volunteered to help, but Sunset held up a hand.

"Twilight," the redhead said. "I'm happy you want to help... but this is our fight. I want you to stay here and make sure nothing goes through that portal."

"You're going to need my help!"

The Ecto-Van pulled up, and Pinkie jumped in carrying two Proton Packs, still yelling CODE RED every few seconds. The other girls followed suit, with Rainbow Dash handing Sunset her Proton Pack. The former Unicorn smiled and put a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"We'll be fine Twilight. But I really do need you here. But if we... if we don't come back... find a way to destroy the portal or seal it forever."

"But... you..."

"I am asking you to _protect our home_ Twilight. Equestria's fate is more important than one mare's life."

With a smile, Sunset Shimmer pulled Twilight into a hug before running to join her friends in the Ecto-Van. Shortly after that, they sped off down the street with lights and sirens blaring. Slimer was hanging onto the rear light bar with both hands as he tagged along. Twilight watched them go, actually feeling afraid for her friends when another hand came down on her shoulder.

"I believe they can do it Twilight," Principal Celestia said. "Have faith."

"I hope you're right..." Twilight sighed. After a moment she ran inside the school. One of the wonders of the human world was something called Television. If she couldn't be there, she could at least find out what was happening. Turning on the first TV she found, Twilight discovered a news report in progress.

 _"It is total pandemonium here in downtown Canterlot!"_ the reporter said as the camera panned up. _"As you can see, some sort of... energy... is erupting from the top floor of City Hall. More ghosts like the ones that have been plaguing the city for the last few weeks have been swarming the entire area. Innocent bystanders are being assaulted, and first responders are powerless to do anything about this event. Right now the only question on everyone's mind is 'where are the Ghostbusters?'"_

* * *

"Radio's goin' crazy!" Applejack said as they barreled down the street. "Police, paramedics, fire, hell... even National Guard are all tryin' t' figure out what t' do!"

"That was a fast response from the Guard," Rarity said.

"So this is it huh?" Rainbow Dash said as she checked her gear. "Endgame."

"I'm scared," Fluttershy admitted.

Sunset took a deep breath. She was scared too. But this was their home. And she was going to fight for it with every last ounce of strength she had. Looking around the van, Sunset took note of her friends state of mind.

Rarity was actually looking at a picture of her family, quietly saying that she would do everything in her power to keep the monsters away from her little sister.

Rainbow Dash was looking out the front windshield, her face an unreadable mask. Sunset was pretty sure that the chromatic haired athlete was praying to any deity that would listen to give her the strength to face this threat head on, in typical Rainbow Dash fashion of course.

Fluttershy had her eyes closed, fighting to hold back tears. The poor girl was scared out of her mind, but was not going to back down. Her friends needed her, and she was going to see this through to the end. Whatever end that may be.

Pinkie Pie was holding the Neutrona Wand of her Proton Pack as if it was a sword, quietly quoting some lines from a movie. It took Sunset a minute to recognize it as the words of an oath or something from _The 13_ _th_ _Warrior_ , speaking of seeing her ancestors calling out to them from Valhalla. Leave it to Pinkie to reference a movie at a time like this.

Applejack's hands were gripping the steering wheel tight, and in the rear view mirror, Sunset could see a look of determination. She was going to fight to the end to protect her home and family.

Twilight Sparkle had a neutral expression, but it was obvious she was just as on edge as the rest of the team. This was going to be the ultimate test of the equipment she had put together. Not only that... the fate of the world could very well hang on how well she designed and built everything.

"Celestia watch over us all," Sunset said as she closed her eyes for a moment.

After what felt like forever, the van came to a stop. Police sirens could be heard outside, along with various other, more ominous sounds. Climbing out, the girls got their Proton Packs on and looked up at the chaos that was City Hall. Slimer flew over by the group and looked on with wide eyes. In a way this was reminding him of what happened in New York years ago. Sunset drew her Neutrona Wand.

"Heat 'em up girls," she said. "One way or another... this ends today."


	13. Battle of Canterlot

Chapter 13

Battle of Canterlot

After speaking with the first responders who were on scene, the girls approached the front door of City Hall. Slimer was staying with them, determined to help in any way he can. Any civilians they find would be sent out for the paramedics to treat. Luckily the Mayor was already out of the building. While she was naturally concerned about everything, Sunset reassured her that they would do everything in their power to end it. She also said that they weren't going to hold back, and property damage was pretty much a guarantee. But stopping what could be the apocalypse was more important than desks and chairs that can be easily replaced.

"Anyone got something profound to say before we walk into a war?" Sunset asked as she put a hand on the door.

"Just an Ancient Egyptian blessing..." Twilight said.

"And that is?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"May God stand between you and harm in all the dark places you must walk."

The girls all looked at Twilight.

"Where did you find that Twilight?" Rarity asked.

"An episode of _Babylon 5_?" Twilight replied with an embarrassed smile.

"I got another reference for us!" Pinke Pie chirped. "Retreat Hell!"

"Retreat Hell?" Fluttershy asked

"From _Battle: Los Angeles_! A marine said that the saying was from World War One. Marines from their unit arrived on the front lines just in time for a retreat order and their sergeant said 'Retreat, Hell... we just got here'," Pinkie explained.

"I will never again question your movie trivia Pinkie," Sunset said with a smile. Both Twilight's blessing and Pinkie's line seemed to fit the situation. She also decided to check out that movie at some point. If they survived.

Taking a deep breath, Sunset pushed the door open and lead the girls into City Hall. It wasn't long before they discovered that there was more wrong with the building than they thought. The entire first floor looked like something from a castle. And not just any castle. The girls found themselves in what appeared to be Canterlot Castle in Equestria!

Tightening her grip on her Neutrona Wand, Sunset was the most visibly affected by this. Both Twilight and Rarity were taking readings with their PKE Meters when Twilight said something about a cross dimensional transference. When asked, Twilight said that it was Kylie who came up with the theory. Basically they were in a pocket dimension. Elements from another dimension were bleeding through due to the sheer amount of energy weakening the barriers. It was a less controlled version of what the girls had witnessed at the Friendship Games. Sunset couldn't find any fault in the theory, and nodded in response before continuing down the hallway.

"So... its possible that we'll see our pony selves?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I don't think so," Twilight replied. "Its more likely to be just environmental aspects, not living beings. Although..."

"Although what?" Applejack asked.

"It is possible that we will see entities _based_ on those from Equestria."

Sunset had a bad feeling as to what that meant. Before any further discussion could take place, Slimer cried out as a pair of skeletal Gryphons lunged at him. Acting quickly, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy blasted the offending beings with Proton Streams. While one was sent flying into a wall, the other actually fought to hold its ground, digging talons and claws into the floor while squawking in defiance. A blue stream soon struck the defiant one, freezing it in place as Twilight unleashed her Stasis Stream.

"Man I wish I had that," Rainbow Dash said as she lifted the skeleton with her Capture Stream and pulled it into a newly deployed trap.

"I'll get right on that after we finish this," Twilight replied as she blasted the second to allow Fluttershy to wrangle it. "I also had an idea for another attachment using Meson Particles."

"Less technobabble, more busting!" Sunset said as she fought with another Gryphon that had appeared.

For what seemed like forever, the girls fought their way through groups of skeletal Equestrians, ranging from gryphons to ponies, until they finally came to something from City Hall itself. The elevators and stairwell. Before Rainbow Dash could push the button, Rarity opened the door to the stairs. When questioned by the athlete, Rarity explained that this level of alteration in the building could have compromised the Elevators. She had no intention of dieing in one if something failed. As soon as Rarity mentioned the possibility of dieing in a metal box, Rainbow Dash was already in the stairwell.

It seemed odd that the stairs were unaltered. Their hopes of just taking the stairs to the top floor, however, were dashed when they stopped only one floor up. They were forced to get off at the second floor, which looked like another region from Equestria. Sunset had a feeling that each floor had its own theme at this point, and the girls were being forced to go through each one like a level from a video game.

This continued as they went floor by floor, blasting anything that got in their way, until they managed to find an unaltered break room and took the chance to rest for a few minutes. Luck was with them, as Fluttershy discovered the fridge had some bottles of water. Applejack found some granola bars, and tossed one to each member of the team.

"You know... as much as I thought I'd enjoy seeing your home Sunset," Rarity said before taking a drink. "Equestria is sure turning out to be quite dangerous."

"And this is just a simulacrum of it," Twilight spoke up. "The real one is probably worse."

"Only in certain places," Sunset defended her homeworld. "But the same can be said of Earth. While we haven't had a war in Equestria for... over a thousand years I think, Earth has had _several_ in the last couple hundred years."

"Well... when you put it that way... I guess we humans are a lot more violent..." Rarity sighed. "I'm still surprised you would choose our world over your own."

"While I miss being a Pony, _this_ is my home now," Sunset said. "I can't change what I did, but... I can at least fight to protect what I care about in _both_ worlds."

With a smile, the girls raised their pilfered bottles in a toast. Protecting what they cared about was something anyone could relate to, no matter where you were from. And Sunset wouldn't admit it, but while it was true humans tended to be more violent than Ponies, there was always someone with the courage to take a stand against the darkness. And that was something Sunset actually admired. The White Knight riding into battle against evil. While she understood that war was hell, it was a necessary evil in this world. And stories of the courage of veterans would live on through time itself to inspire younger generations with their acts of heroism. Stories... that were very few and far between back in Equestria.

Ok... Sunset Shimmer had just determined that in some cases Equestria was actually _boring_. Then again... she wasn't up to date on current affairs either, especially with what Princess Twilight had said about being caught in some kind of time loop at one point.

* * *

"Have the Ghostbusters reported in?" the Mayor asked.

"Just about five minutes ago ma'am," a police officer said as he looked up at the sky.

"And?"

"Fifth floor, having to actually clear out each floor due to some kind of... they called it pocket dimension alteration?"

The Mayor had no idea what that meant, but figured that complications had come up. It didn't help that one of her aids was calling the brave girls scam artists and criminals. After fifteen minutes of this, the Mayor actually turned to face her aid.

"Peck... _Shut up_ or your fired," she said. "Those high school girls are _risking their lives_ to save our city, and you're wanting to arrest them?"

"They are using unlicensed energy weapons! They are willfully destroying public property! They are..."

"Peck..."

"Yes?"

"You're fired."

* * *

The girls got up to the sixth floor, just one floor away from their goal, and Sunset stopped in her tracks as she looked out at the transmogrified landscape that lay before them. She knew of this place. The one place in Equestria you did not want to be in. How Princess Twilight and her friends can live right next to such a place, Sunset didn't know. But now it was looking like the Ghostbusters were going to have to go through one of the most dangerous parts of Equestria.

The Everfree Forest.

Applejack noticed the change in Sunset and put a hand on her friend's shoulder, asking if she was alright. Sunset nodded, then explained that the Everfree Forest was very dangerous. She went on to describe some of the creatures that live in the Everfree, including Chimeras and Manticores. She was about to tell them about one particular thing when the girls all heard a howl in the distance. Everyone tightened their grip on their Neutrona Wands.

"What was that?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Sounded like... a wolf?" Fluttershy replied.

"Worse..." Sunset said. "Timberwolf."

Sure enough, a creature emerged in the typical stalking posture. It looked like a wolf, but was much bigger and... made out of branches? The girls instantly jumped into action the minute the Timberwolf lunged at them. Scattering to keep from getting hit, they unleashed a barrage of Proton Streams in an effort to weaken the attacking creature. Applejack actually grabbed the Timberwolf's head with her Capture Stream and tried to pull it off like the last animator golem she fought. The problem was it wasn't working. The others started wrangling it with their own Capture Streams in an attempt to literally pull it apart.

"Its not working!" Twilight exclaimed as she pulled on one of the legs.

"Timberwolves aren't animator spirits!" Sunset replied as she did her best to hold the creature in place. "They're... complicated magic creatures!"

"So if we can't pull it apart how do we beat it?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"HULK SMASH!" Pinkie Pie yelled as she unleashed a Boson Dart into the Timberwolf's face.

Recoiling from the unexpected force of the attack, the Timberwolf reared up in the Capture Streams before getting blasted in the belly by a second Boson Dart. Catching on, Sunset released the Timberwolf and added her own Boson Darts to the assault. Soon, the Timberwolf broke apart under the concentrated fire. As the last pieces fell to the ground, Rainbow Dash looked around.

"Uh... I may not be the best at paying attention in class, but... aren't wolves usually... Pack Hunters?" the athlete asked.

The response was more howls in the distance. Applejack had a deadpan look on her face before slapping Rainbow Dash upside the head.

"Ya just had t' jinx it didn't ya!" the country girl protested.

"Back to back!" Sunset called out. "Concentrate fire with the Boson Darts! Alternate shots and venting when you can!"

The girls all got into a circle with their backs to each other, and opened fire on any Timberwolf that attacked them. Sunset's plan was to alternate to hit them faster, while allowing for a chance to vent the heat from the packs. While one person vents, another would be taking a shot. Timberwolf after Timberwolf came at them from the trees, only to get cut down by two to three Boson Darts. Only one was able to get past the onslaught and pounced on Fluttershy, only for Twilight to hit it with a Stasis Beam. _Six_ Boson Darts later, the offending creature was a pile of burnt wood.

"We should keep moving," Sunset said.

"Anythin' else we should worry 'bout?" Applejack asked.

"Not sure. Maybe parasprites, but generally they just eat anything edible and reproduce."

"So... Tribbles," Twilight replied.

"They can fly."

" _Flying_ Tribbles."

"I guess."

As they continued towards the next stairwell, the girls found themselves under attack from pretty much everything Sunset had described. Even the parasprites, that behaved more like the swarmers they fought at the Library. Rarity's Proton Stream and Twilight's Shock Blast proved to be more than capable at dealing with the swarmers. The Manticores and Chimeras, however, were a bigger issue. It turned out though, that they were just as vulnerable to the Ghost Trap and tag team tactics. Even Slimer was helping when he could, distracting anything with slime and even taunting them, giving the girls an opening to blast away with the Proton Packs.

Eventually, the girls managed to make their way to the stairwell, only to have their progress blocked by three pony shaped forms in the mist.

"Hey! What gives?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"We cannot allow you to proceed," one of the forms said before the trio emerged, revealing three Pegasi wearing some kind of dark themed flight suits.

"Well... you're not gonna stop us," Rainbow Dash shot back.

The three Pegasi adopted a more aggressive posture that Sunset recognized as typical for winged Ponies. Head down, wings out, and legs braced and ready to kick off.

"We are the Shadowbolts," the lead Pegasus declared. "And none shall pass us."

"Sorry Darling," Rarity said. "We've met the Shadowbolts. In fact, Twilight here used to _be_ one."

Slimer actually blew a raspberry at the Shadowbolts. Sunset knew that they had the advantage of numbers, but even one Pony could potentially match a group of humans in strength. And a Pegasus had the added advantage of wings for speed and agility.

The standoff continued for another minute before the Shadowbolts decided to strike first. Unlike the previous skeletal Ponies, the Shadowbolts were proving to be smarter and faster. They were driving the Ghostbusters back slowly but surely. It was obvious they were guarding the stairs leading up to the top floor. It wasn't until Slimer actually grabbed onto one of the Shadowbolts that they were finally able to make any progress. Seeing the ghost clinging to one of the Pegasi, Rainbow Dash turned her Neutrona Wand on it and unleashed a Proton Stream. As the Pegasus fought to break free, Rainbow Dash tossed her trap and started to pull the Shadowbolt closer.

"You remind me of that rainbow maned Pegasus Rainbow Dash!" the wrangled Pegasus spat.

"That's kinda funny," the chromatic haired girl said with a smirk. "Because _my_ name is Rainbow Dash!"

Caught off guard by that revelation, the Shadowbolt actually stopped fighting due to shock long enough for Rainbow Dash to pull it into range of the trap and hold it until it was sucked in. Rarity and Fluttershy were fighting with the second while Applejack was proving why she was the team's top wrangler with the third. The country girl's victim was struggling in her Capture Stream before getting slammed into the floor and even trees. Soon enough, Applejack added the second Shadowbolt to the trap. The third was soon caught in seven Capture Streams before Rainbow Dash kicked the trap underneath it. With a defiant cry, the last Shadowbolt was sucked into the trap. The doors closed and the trap chirped twice.

"Well... three in the box," Rarity said, wiping a hand across her brow.

"Ready to go!" Pinkie Pie chirped.

"We be fast..." Rainbow Dash said as she picked up the trap.

"And they be slow!" all seven of them cheered with a smile.

"Good work girls," Sunset said. "And you too Slimer."

The victory celebration only lasted a moment though. They knew what was coming up. While it was a morale boost, they weren't done yet. There was just one more floor above them. And with it, the final battle that could very well determine the fate of the world.


	14. I'm Not Afraid

Chapter 14

I'm Not Afraid

Seventh Floor: Housewares, Evil Godlike Entities... a ruined castle in the middle of a forest?

The group emerged from the stairwell and found themselves in front of ruins. Sunset instantly recognized the significance of this. The ancient Castle of the Two Sisters. The site of a battle between Princess Celestia and Nightmare Moon. And according to Princess Twilight, the site of a battle between Nightmare Moon and the Element Bearers after her return. The irony of the top floor taking on such a form wasn't lost on her.

While they were still inside City Hall, the dimensional instability had made it seem as though the area was much larger. There were still some signs of the original building, but the higher up they went, the more distorted it became until they hit the Everfree Forest floor, where the only evidence they were still in a building was the occasional desk. Now here on the top floor, it didn't even have _that_. It was a full on Dimensional Transfiguration.

Slimer hovered around Twilight, almost protectively, as the group approached the front gate. Holstering her Neutrona Wand, Sunset put a hand on the old door before putting her shoulder into it and started to push with all her strength. She was immediately joined by Twilight Sparkle, and shortly after that, the rest of the girls. Even Slimer was pushing on the massive door. With a groan, the doors shifted and finally started to swing open.

"What is this place?" Twilight asked as they entered the old castle.

"The Castle of the Two Sisters," Sunset said. "Once the home of Princess Luna and Celestia before Nightmare Moon and her subsequent banishment."

"Was this where it happened?" Rarity asked.

Sunset nodded before pulling out her PKE Meter. Again, the entire place was active, making any accurate readings difficult at best. Even Twilight was having problems.

"PKE's off the charts," the purple haired scientist said. "I'll have to make new charts."

"Well... old fashioned way it is," Applejack said as she drew her Neutrona Wand.

Unlike the previous floors, the girls were able to proceed almost totally unopposed. Only the occasional closed door hindered their progress. The closer they got to the center of the castle, the louder the chanting got. They were coming up on the Ritual Chamber. Slimer continued to stay close to Twilight, looking a little scared himself. Twilight actually reached over and gave the ghost a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

Forcing a door open, the girls found themselves in the throne room. And right in the middle was the largest gathering of Cultists they ever saw, along with the source of the energy pouring into the sky. In the Ritual Circle was what looked like some kind of Stone Orb, and floating above it was a dark sphere of energy that was acting like a focus for the energy being released. One particular Cultist looked up from a book and saw them.

"You're too late Wondercolts!" the Cultist called out in a familiar voice. "Soon... the Goddess shall walk among us!"

"Why'd she call us by our school team's name?" Rainbow Dash asked in confusion.

"That voice..." Twilight said as she stepped forward. "I... I know you!"

"We had such high hopes for you Twilight Sparkle. Especially after I saw what you did at the Friendship Games," the Cultist said. "After you opened those rifts... I knew that it was possible to finally achieve what we have desired for over a hundred years!"

"Why dont'cha show yer face ya coward!" Applejack challenged.

The Cultist chuckled before reaching up to the hood concealing their face. Taking hold of both sides, the Cultist pulled the hood back revealing...

"PRINCIPAL CINCH?!" the girls exclaimed in shock.

"Surprised?" Cinch replied with a smirk. "I admit that the Cult had lost its way for years after the events at Ponyville Elementary. And for a long time I had given up. The only thing that mattered to me anymore was reputation. But _that day_ at Canterlot High... My faith was restored. I _knew_ we could bring the Goddess here."

Grinding her teeth, Twilight Sparkle brought her Neutrona Wand up and aimed at the dark sphere behind Cinch.

"I can't let you threaten this world Cinch. Step aside," she said.

"You're too late Twilight," Cinch said. "She... is here."

As if on cue, a burst of energy erupted from the sphere, throwing the girls back and even throwing Applejack's hat off her head.

* * *

A wave of energy swept across Canterlot from City Hall, throwing everyone back. The wave was even felt as far away as Canterlot High.

Scrambling to her feet, Princess Twilight Sparkle ran outside and looked out towards the city in fear. Even with her magic muted to dang near non-existence, she felt the magic and knew what it was.

* * *

Sunset pushed herself at least to a position where she could see what was going on. The Cultists were all down on their knees as the sphere started to morph into an equine form. Black as the deepest night, with a mane that looked to be made of a piece of the night sky itself, the form touched down on the ground with armored hooves before spreading her wings and opening her eyes.

Nightmare Moon had been summoned to the Human World.

"What... is this place?" Nightmare Moon asked as she looked at the gathered beings she didn't recognize.

"Mighty Goddess," Cinch said as she took a knee. "We have summoned you here, to a world where none can oppose your rule. We, the Cult of Eternal Night, are yours to command."

"And... those seven?"

"A minor annoyance."

The Ghostbusters pushed themselves to their feet, and Twilight actually pulled her glasses off to clean them as if it would help her to see if this really was happening. Nightmare Moon looked over the group with contempt. The redhead was interesting as she could sense some magic from the girl, but as soon as she got a good look at the other six...

"YOU!" she snarled, especially focused on Twilight Sparkle.

The girls, except for Sunset, blinked in confusion before taking a defensive step back.

"Uh... Sunset? Why does she look like she wants to destroy us all of a sudden?" Rarity asked.

"Because it was Princess Twilight and her friends, _your counterparts_ , who beat her the _first_ time around," Sunset said as she joined them, bringing her Neutrona Wand up.

"Ooooh shtako..." Rainbow Dash swore.

The Cultists all moved away to give their Goddess room to smite the fools who dared to challenge her power. The dark Alicorn stepped out of the circle, leaving behind the energy beam and the Orb, and moved towards the Ghostbusters. Even Slimer was shaking in her presence. This entity was much stronger than anything they had ever faced before.

With a dark smile, Nightmare Moon reared up. Magic energy formed around her horn before she launched a spell at the girls before they could even react. The spell struck all seven of them, but it seemed as though Sunset and Twilight were unaffected. In Twilight's case it was because Slimer actually took the hit for her. In Sunset's case...

Sunset threw her arms up in a futile attempt to protect herself from the spell, only for it to essentially splash off her harmlessly. The other girls, however, were enveloped in a dark aura before they collapsed, quivering in fear. In a panic, Sunset ran over to Applejack, who happened to be the closest to her, and tried to find out what was going on. The country girl had her eyes closed tight and kept muttering about spiders. The aura was still present around her, telling Sunset that this was a channeled spell. Nightmare Moon had to maintain it. And with Applejack muttering about spiders...

It was a fear spell.

Nightmare Moon was trying to use their own fears against them. At first Sunset wondered why she hadn't been affected before a thought came to her. She had already faced one of her biggest fears in the Library! Her own dark side! Looking back at Twilight and the reeling Slimer, Sunset figured that the purple haired girl could have been spared because of that as well. Based on what was said at Sweet Apple Acres, one of Twilight's biggest fears was losing control and turning into Midnight Sparkle again. And she had actually stood against her own dark side as well! But with five of the girls down...

Sunset actually took hold of Applejack. She had an idea. If she couldn't disspell the magic, she might be able to get Applejack to face her fear and counter it from within.

"Applejack! Can you hear me?"

"Spi... Sunset... spiders... run..."

"Applejack... when did you get arachnophobia?"

"Ah... ah was three... fell into a... nest... spiders all over me... get 'em off!"

"Applejack... you're bigger than they are. I know you're scared, but you need to fight through it. Shelob is nothing compared to you Applejack."

"Always... hated that scene in _Lord of the Rings_..."

"And yet it didn't stop you from enjoying the movie. Now fry those spiders and come back Applejack. Your friends need you. Your family needs you."

The aura around Applejack faded, and the country girl opened her eyes slowly before complaining about feeling like she got bucked by a mule. Sunset smiled and helped pull her up to her feet. Taking a quick look back at Nightmare Moon, who looked furious but didn't move to not disrupt her spell, Sunset quickly explained what was going on. Applejack nodded. It made sense to her. Nightmare Moon wanted to use their own fear against them, and it worked for the most part. But somehow, Sunset Shimmer was able to cut through that fear. Her courage was strong enough to help Applejack with one of her deepest rooted fears. Courage wasn't the absence of fear, it was acknowledging that fear exists and continuing on despite that fear.

Together with Twilight Sparkle, Sunset and Applejack got to work getting through to the others. One by one, the girls were walked through facing their fears and brought back to reality. In Pinkie's case it was a paralyzing fear of losing her unique identity. For Rainbow Dash, it was actually being abandoned. Rarity's was loss of family. Fluttershy's fear was actually guns, which was a bit ironic considering her skill with the Proton Pack.

Once the girls had recovered and the spell was broken, they all stood and faced Nightmare Moon. Growling in annoyance, Nightmare Moon prepared another spell. This time the girls were ready and opened fire with their Proton Packs. Caught off guard by the sudden aggressive act, Nightmare Moon actually threw up a shield before flying up into the air. They didn't have magic yet they were able to not only break free of her fear spell, but they actually had the nerve to attack her directly! The Cultists all cleared out, except for Cinch, as Nightmare Moon unleashed a wave of dark energy.

Taking cover behind anything they could find, the girls tried to hit Nightmare Moon again with their Proton Streams. Applejack actually switched over to the Capture Stream and grabbed Nightmare Moon by the leg. The dark Alicorn instantly took offense and cast a spell that sent a burst of energy right back at her along the Proton Stream that sent her flying into a wall. Boson Darts were repulsed with a flick of her wings, and even Twilight's Stasis Stream was countered by a barrier any time she tried to use it. The only time the Ghostbusters seemed to be able to actually inflict any damage was when multiple Proton Streams managed to strike her at the same time, but only for a moment as Nightmare Moon would just cause a feedback like she did with Applejack or unleash a wave of energy that would send them all flying.

"FOOLISH CREATURES!" Nightmare Moon shouted. "You are nothing compared to me! You do not even know of what you face!"

"I know!" Sunset declared. "I know who you are! Nightmare Moon, dark side of Princess Luna of Equestria!"

"And how do you know of that?"

"Because I am from Equestria! I was once the personal student of Princess Celestia herself! So I know all about you Nightmare Moon! This is not your world, and I will do everything in my power to stop you."

Nightmare Moon laughed. This... creature... was one of her subjects? And she actually believed she could fight an Alicorn? Focusing on Sunset, Nightmare Moon grabbed the girl with her magic and used her to physically bowl over the rest of the Ghostbusters. Before she could do anything else, Slimer was in her face blowing a raspberry and shaking his rear end. Growling in annoyance, Nightmare Moon tried to swat away the spud, only for Slimer to zip out of the way and continue to torment her.

"Get back here you annoying little pest!" Nightmare Moon yelled as she tried to attack Slimer.

Taking the opportunity to find cover and regroup, the girls hid behind the twin thrones to discuss plans. So far everything they threw at her wasn't enough. Nightmare Moon just shrugged off every attack as if it was nothing.

"What do we do?" Fluttershy asked.

"Well... our individual Proton Streams aren't enough," Twilight said. "But maybe if we work together..."

"Tried that Twi," Applejack pointed out. "She just blasted us with that wave."

"You're right. Seven individual Proton Streams aren't powerful enough to get through her defenses. But maybe... we can overpower her with one massive Proton Stream."

Sunset looked at Twilight, wondering what she meant by that. How could they make a bigger Proton Stream? They didn't have time to cannibalize their Proton Packs to cobble together a Proton Cannon...

"Our seven beams are just spreading out the damage. Like... in _Lost World_ when Dr. Harding was on the glass panel. It didn't break under her full weight because she was laying flat against it. It was only when she started to push herself up that the glass started to crack," Twilight explained.

"Because instead of spreading out her weight... it was _concentrated_ on her hands and knees..." Rarity added. "Same weight, but on a _smaller area_. But how do we do that _here?_ "

"We... we cross the streams."

Everyone looked at Twilight Sparkle like she had just gone insane.

"Wait a second... I thought you said crossing the streams was a bad idea!" Sunset said. "Like... _explode at the speed of light_ bad!"

"Cross the streams..." Rainbow Dash groaned.

"Its a risk, but I don't see any alternative," Twilight said. "It will be the only way we can concentrate enough power into a single point against Nightmare Moon. And... there actually is a slim chance we'll survive. Kylie says the Ghostbusters used the same tactic against Gozer in New York."

The girls looked at each other. They knew there was no other choice. It was a Hail Mary at best. But if they were going to defeat Nightmare Moon...

"I love this plan!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed before slapping Fluttershy on the shoulder. "I am excited to be a part of it! Lets do it!"

As if they were breaking a huddle, the girls all came out of cover and took aim at Nightmare Moon. The dark Alicorn laughed at them, expecting more of the same futile attempts to harm her.

"Well... Nice knowin' y'all," Applejack said before firing her Proton Stream and striking Nightmare Moon's shield in her chest.

"Who wants to live forever?" Rainbow Dash asked before adding her own Proton Stream. Both streams were dancing in front of their target as the chromatic haired girl started to pull her Neutrona Wand in close to Applejack's, causing the Streams to merge into a larger one. Nightmare Moon actually looked surprised at the sudden increase in power from the attack.

"If we're going to go down... might as well go out swinging," Rarity said as she fired her Proton Stream and pulled it in until it merged with the others.

"I can't let you threaten all the innocent people and animals on this planet," Fluttershy said before adding her Proton Stream to the mix. Now Nightmare Moon was having to grit her teeth and focus to keep her shield from failing. What kind of power was this?

"Girls... thanks for being my friends," Twilight Sparkle said before firing off her own Proton Stream and merging it with the others.

"Lets do this!" Pinkie Pie said before firing off her own Proton Stream. "LEEEEEROOOOY JEEENKIIIINNNNNNNSS!"

The combined power of six Proton Streams was actually pushing Nightmare Moon back towards the Ritual Circle. Her magic shield flaring in anger at the constant punishment. The dark Alicorn tried to dig her armored hooves into the ground as she fought against the onslaught.

Sunset Shimmer approached the center from the back of the formation and leveled her own Neutrona Wand.

"I'm not afraid of you Nightmare Moon!" Sunset yelled as she added her own Proton Stream, bringing the total power of the super stream up to seven times the output of a single Proton Pack. The energy spider-webbed around Nightmare Moon's shield before literally shattering it and striking her directly. Crying out in defiance, Nightmare Moon tried to focus to cast a feedback spell.

The Stone Orb that had been used as a focus for the summoning suddenly rolled forward on its own before cracking and unleashing a golden beam towards the girls. Nightmare Moon finally got a good look at the Orb and her eyes went wide.

"An Element? Impossible!" Nightmare Moon cried out.

The golden light struck the girls, and the magic inside of them flared to life. Slimer watched in awe as all seven girls, for lack of a better term, Pony'd up and glowed with magical energy like a rainbow. The energy soon started to flow into their Neutrona Wands, and in turn into the Proton Stream. The orange and blue Proton Megastream was soon wrapped in spiraling rainbow energy that struck Nightmare Moon square in the chest. The girls were crying out, fully expecting to explode at any moment, but Sunset Shimmer had a defiant smirk on her face. She decided to pull a Pinkie and reference a movie. Something defiant in the face of evil.

"NIGHTMARE MOON! GO TO HELL! AND TAKE YOUR FRIENDS WITH YOU!"

* * *

The top of Canterlot City Hall erupted in a massive explosion, rocking downtown Canterlot. The energy beam lancing into the sky ceased, and everything went silent.


	15. Ghostbusters

Chapter 15

Ghostbusters

All eyes in Canterlot High's Auditorium were glued to the news report. Principal Celestia had managed to convince everyone to get back inside, and was using a projector to screen the news in hopes of seeing what happened.

"No..." Princess Twilight gasped as they watched the top of City Hall just explode.

 _"I... are we still rolling?"_

 _"Yea... I'm alright. You?"_

 _"Yea... As... as you can see... the entire top floor of City Hall has just erupted into a fireball. Whatever happened, it appears that the energy that had been flowing up into the sky has stopped. Paramedics and Firefighters are moving in now to check for survivors."_

* * *

The top floor of City Hall was all but destroyed. The entire roof had been blown clean off, and everything was buried in wreckage.

A pile of debris shifted, before a blue hand shot up, followed by a very roughed up looking Rainbow Dash.

"Are we dead?" she asked, not expecting to get an answer.

"I'll... tell you in a minute..." came the voice of Rarity from somewhere nearby. Scrambling out of her pile, Rainbow Dash made her way over to where she heard her friend and started digging until she found a disheveled looking fashionista. Helping Rarity up, Rainbow Dash actually groaned in pain due to having a building fall on her earlier.

"You alright?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Well... if I look anything like you... at least I'm alive," Rarity replied. Rainbow Dash took one look at Rarity's hair and snickered. She had a feeling Rarity was going to freak at how messy her hair was. Soon after finding Rarity, Fluttershy managed to dig herself free and started shaking dust out of her pink hair. Applejack was next, actually pushing a desk over that had somehow gotten over her.

"Well... lets not do _that_ again anytime soon," the country girl drawled, eliciting a laugh from the girls who were up and about.

"Can someone get me out of this thing?" the muffled voice of Twilight Sparkle reached them. Soon enough, the four girls found Twilight inside a fridge of all things. The only real sign of damage was her glasses were cracked. Slimer was in the freezer, looking like a green ice cube, but the ghost was alright as he defrosted and actually hugged Rarity, much to Rarity's discomfort.

A short distance away, Pinkie Pie burst up through a pile of debris and shook herself off with a funny sound.

"What a rush..." she said before prying herself out entirely. "Anyone seen Sunset?"

Looking around, the girls didn't see any sign of their friend and started digging around. Twilight saw one pile of debris moving. Calling the girls over, Twilight started to dig through the busted ceiling tiles and wrecked cabinets before taking hold of something that felt like a hand. Working with the others, Twilight managed to clear enough of the debris to discover... a purple hand just like her own?

After a little more digging, the owner of the hand was revealed. A young woman who looked to be in her twenties with a wild hairstyle. Physically she looked a bit like an older version of Twilight, and she looked like she was wearing some kind of armor. The young woman looked dazed but after a moment she focused on Twilight with a look of confusion. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, a flying green spud slammed into her and pulled her up into a hug.

"KYLIE!" Slimer exclaimed in excitement.

"Gah! Slimer! No hugging!" Kylie Griffin protested. After freeing herself from the spud, and groaning about being slimed, Kylie looked around and blinked. She could see Twilight, and most of the other girls...

"Is it really you?" Twilight asked.

"Uh... I don't..." Kylie started to say before getting poked in the shoulder by Pinkie Pie. Kylie gave the pink party girl a deadpan look before poking her back.

"Yup. She's real!" Pinkie chirped before bouncing back a bit.

"Huh... I guess... GAH!" Kylie was cut off as Twilight pulled her into a hug. After a moment, Kylie actually returned the hug with a smile on her face.

While all this was going on, Sunset Shimmer dug herself out enough to get some fresh air, and gasped for breath. The movement attracted Applejack's attention, and the country girl actually went over to help Sunset up. It was then that she noticed something different. There was some kind of pendant hanging around Sunset's neck.

"Ya alright sugarcube?" Applejack asked.

"Yea... nothing like dropping a building on a deity to end the day huh?" Sunset replied with a tired smile.

"Well... top floor of one anyways," Applejack replied with a smile. "What's that around yer neck?"

"What?"

Sunset brought a hand to her neck and felt the gold chain that lead to a gem pendant... in the shape of her cutie mark from Equestria, and the symbol on one of her favorite shirts. A two tone red/yellow blazing sun.

"What... how..." Sunset trailed off before she remembered something. Just before they blasted Nightmare Moon to oblivion, some kind of stone orb rolled and shot a golden beam at them. Nightmare Moon had called it an... Element? But that was... it couldn't be! All six were accounted for _back in Equestria!_ How could she have one?

Applejack put a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"We'll figure it out later," she drawled. "Stop freakin' already."

"Yea..." Sunset sighed as she released the amulet and let it drop back down against her chest.

After getting over the shock of discovering her new bling, and meeting Kylie in person for the first time, Sunset called for the girls to gather around and leave the building. On the way they actually found Principal Cinch and made sure to restrain her for the authorities to deal with.

* * *

"Right now... it seems unlikely anyone could have survived the... blast..." the news reporter trailed off as his cameraman shifted his focus to the front of the building. As soon as it was clear who had emerged, cheers erupted from the crowd that had gathered.

It was the Ghostbusters.

Both Police and Paramedics rushed over to check on them, and what appeared to be two survivors. Sunset Shimmer shoved Principal Cinch into the hands of the cops and told them to charge her with as many counts of public endangerment they could, along with enough counts of child endangerment to cover _every_ student at Crystal Prep and even Ponyville Elementary. Principal Cinch didn't even resist. She knew she was beat, and even her reputation was now shattered. Nothing left to fight for. As news reporters swarmed the high school girls, Sunset Shimmer actually held up a hand to silence them.

"What we just experienced was an event of near apocalyptic levels. A..." Sunset trailed off and looked at her friends.

"Lets call it a Class 8 Transdimensional Deity," Twilight supplied.

"A Class 8 Transdimensional Deity had been summoned into our world. Short version, a literal Goddess from another world was brought into ours. We managed to eliminate the threat through not only the courage of myself, but my friends. Regrettably... we kinda wrecked City Hall in the process. But the way I see it... property can be repaired and replaced. Lives can't."

"You're only high school students," one reporter said. "How could anyone, especially you girls, come up with any kind of means to fight the plague of paranormal activity?"

"That... is classified," Sunset said with a smile. "But I will say that we did what we had to... to protect our home."

"Also," Rainbow Dash said as she popped in behind Sunset. "Saving the world is kinda becoming our thing. Long story. And I think Slimer took offense to being called a plague."

Sure enough, said green spud was looking at the reporters from above with a look of disappointment, arms crossed in front of him.

As this was going on, Applejack's hat landed in front of her, and the country girl scooped it up and put it back on her head.

"Now... if you'll excuse us, we're tired and a little hungry," Sunset said as she actually pushed one of the mics away from her. "And I get cranky when I haven't eaten."

With that, the Ghostbusters loaded their gear into the Ecto-Van and started to climb in when the Mayor approached them. She said that they would be recognized for their bravery at a later date, and that for now, the city would pay for their meal. The girls all looked at each other, Kylie included, before inviting the Mayor to come along for the ride since they figured no one would believe them.

* * *

 _Dear Twilight:_

 _Its been a few days since the battle against Nightmare Moon, and... everything's settled down. No real serious paranormal activity. So far it seems like Canterlot's quieted down to where it was before. Just the occasional magical disturbance._

 _The package I sent back with you, that I told you_ not _to open and to deliver to Princess Celestia, was something I felt that only she could properly dispose of. All three copies of this so called_ _Codex of Night_ _that was used by the Cult, boxed up and put in another box full of positively charged Slime. Kylie's idea._

 _Speaking of Kylie, she was impressed with us and said that we were worthy of taking the title of Ghostbusters. She was actually adopted by Twilight's parents, since we kinda can't send her back to her world, and is now running an occult book store. Guess she's leaving it to us to take up the reigns since it is our world. I heard Twilight's brother Shining Armor doesn't even know what to make of Kylie._

 _There is one thing that is bothering me though. This amulet I somehow acquired after the fight with Nightmare Moon. It... reminds me of your old crown. The one with the Element of Magic. But... all six Elements of Harmony are accounted for. Where'd_ this one _come from? And why me?_

 _Anyways... we're going to keep the gear and everything in case its needed again. The Mayor actually has a business license waiting for us for when we graduate. Not only that... we were honored by the city for our bravery, and awarded not only a ceremonial Key to the City, but we each got paychecks for services rendered. And the Mayor actually called any property damage incurred during our busts to be an "Occupational Hazard" and that we are not liable for any damage we cause. Already the insurance companies are scrambling to come up with something to take us into account._

 _I just hope things stay quiet for a while Twilight. Word is Principal Celestia's going to set up a trip to Camp Everfree at some point in the future. And don't worry. Its the Human World. I doubt there's any connection with the Everfree Forest other than name. I mean... Canterlot High? Crystal Prep?_

 _Take care of yourself Twilight. And... maybe I can come back sometime to visit. And... maybe even visit my parents._

 _Your Friend,_

 _Sunset Shimmer_

* * *

 **Equestria**

"She has buried herself in the Royal Library for three days sister."

"I know."

"She needs to get out."

"I know."

"Is that all you're going to say?"

Princess Celestia smiled and looked over at her sister. She had received the package that Sunset had sent, and was thrilled at having another sample of Ectoplasm to study. But Sunset had been right to send the books to her for disposal. That kind of magic in any hooves was dangerous. So she made the choice to send one copy to the moon, one to Tartarus, and the original was stored in the restricted section of the Royal Library, never to see the light of day again, under heavy wards.

"This revelation of an Element in the Human World is... interesting. Twilight won't find anything in the archives. Tell me Luna... do you remember the old legends about the Elements of Harmony?"

"A little... why?"

"Because I believe that one of them... may have actually been a prophecy."

Luna looked at her sister in confusion before asking what she meant. Celestia down the hall as she ruffled her wing feathers a bit.

"When the Darkness of Eternal Night threatens a world of exile,

The shadow of the Elements will rise,

And a lost child of Equestria will awaken the Courage within."

Luna blinked as her sister related the old legend. She did in fact remember this one. It never made sense to her, but then again... most don't. She was more practical that way. More a mare of action at times than one for bookwork.

"The Darkness of Eternal Night may very well refer to your dark side Luna. Nightmare Moon. And the world of exile may be the human world."

"Starswirl the Bearded sure enjoyed sending dangerous beings through the portal. And into a world without magic... it was essentially the ultimate exile. They would be powerless to affect anyone," Luna said.

"Yes. Now... the shadow of the Elements may refer to the human counterparts of the Element Bearers. According to Twilight, they do have some inherent magic but it is nowhere near as powerful as here. And... the lost child of Equestria could be Sunset Shimmer."

Luna stopped and facehoofed.

"That is a lot of speculation sister," she said as she focused on the taller Alicorn. "We don't even know anything about this supposed Element."

"That... I believe is where you are wrong. 'Awaken the Courage within'. While it is true all six Elements are accounted for, there is one that underlies them all. One that each Bearer had displayed on their own over time. It never manifested because... it wasn't truly needed. Until now," Celestia said as she turned to face her sister.

"Still..."

"Courage, Luna. It takes Courage to be honest even when a simple lie could comfort a loved one. It takes Courage to stay true to your friends in the face of everything you could have wanted. It takes Courage to be kind to others, even those you once considered a foe. Courage to laugh, Courage to be Generous..."

"Courage to face the unknowns within Magic itself..." Luna finished.

"Exactly. It wasn't needed here because... they all had it within them. But in the human world... a world full of conflict... Courage found a Bearer, and perhaps... even helped stop the Sirens in a way."

Luna considered her sister's words before looking back at her.

"Does she know?" she asked.

"No. But perhaps she suspects," Celestia replied before continuing down the corridor. "But that is for her to discover on her own. We cannot interfere. Just as the Bearers found themselves, Sunset Shimmer has to learn for herself."

"You know... I hate it when you get cryptic..."

* * *

 **Human World**

The bell rang, and the students started to gather their things.

"Alright class. Remember that you have a report due on my desk on Monday morning! Enjoy your weekend and be safe," Ms. Sage said before focusing on one particular student. "Sunset, would you stay for a moment?"

After packing her backpack, Sunset Shimmer approached Ms. Sage's desk.

"What's up?" she asked.

"I'm sure you're wondering why I never assigned you any particular legend to write your report on," Ms. Sage replied.

Sunset nodded. How was she going to do the assignment when she didn't even know what to work on? Ms. Sage smiled before pulling out a book and setting it on the desk between them. Sunset picked it up and looked at the cover.

"Arthurian Legend?" Sunset asked.

"After recent events... kinda feels right to give you this subject for your report," Ms. Sage said. "After all... in some ways you and King Arthur have a lot in common. Reluctant leaders who never asked for their lot in life, but made the most of it. You and your friends are a bit like the Knights of the Round Table. Without all the negative stuff of course. Anyways... same deadline. On my desk Monday morning."

"Of course Ms. Sage," Sunset said before slipping the book into her backpack.

 _"Will the Ghostbusters please report to the Principal's office."_

"Duty calls," Ms. Sage said with a smile.

With a shrug, Sunset left the classroom and made her way to Principal Celestia's office. There, she found the other girls already waiting for her, along with both Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna. Celestia was holding a manila folder, and Sunset could actually make out the Ghostbusters symbol on the front.

"We just got a long distance call asking for you girls," Celestia said as she placed the folder on her desk. "Sounds serious."

Sunset picked up the folder and looked through the contents. Sure enough... it looked like something was up.

"I'll see to it that any assignments you have over the weekend are delivered as long as you e-mail them to me or Luna," Celestia said. "But... how would you girls like to take a trip up to Manhattan? Sounds like they could use your help."

Closing the folder, Sunset looked at her friends.

"Are we there yet?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"ROAD TRIP!" Pinkie Pie cheered.

The rest of the team all gave similar responses.

With a smile, Sunset Shimmer looked back at Principal Celestia.

"We'll take the job."


End file.
